A Fangirl's Dream
by Ultimate Inuyasha Sonic Fan
Summary: 13-year-old Addison Moon is living an ordinary life. She's got two parents, a sister, two dogs...and a dream. She wants something extraordinary to happen to her. But not even she knows quite what that would be! ...Until she finds that one, tiny white hair...
1. Musical Intro

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongAnother new story. Hahahahahaaaaa...Yeah no. Both of my stories are being written on a whim. I came up with the first one as I went along, and I thought of this one in the shower. So, as I sit here and type with my wet hair, please enjoy! *Some facts about "me" have been changed so my identity remains hidden* also chapter one is kind of bland for it acts as an intro...sorry./strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emMe. A 13-year-old girl, living a normal life. I have longed for something really...different to happen to me. Something. Anything. I can't really describe it...it would sound weird. If I told people about my daydreams, it wouldn't go down well. But, I just wish something would happen to me...Something really off and truly unique./em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I sighed as I sat down at my old computer. I turned it on and waited. A small bag of graham crackers sat beside me and I grabbed one, taking a bite of it as I waited for my computer to load. When the screen came on, flashing me a picture of InuYasha, Sonic, and Shadow, I smiled to myself. emAlways looks perfect./em I thought to myself, studying the small purple orb in Sonic's hand. He was holding the Shikon Jewel, as he sat on InuYasha's right shoulder. Said half-demon carried Shadow in his left arm. The dark hedgehog looked unhappy, but...When did he not? I knew already he had his (small) circle of friends, and it wasn't exactly Sonic-based. I chuckled to myself and clicked on the Internet Explorer icon before waiting for that to load too./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Hey, Addison? Could you please take the dogs out?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Oh, sure, mom!" I got up, my curly red hair swishing behind me as I hurried to the bar where my phone sat, charging. I unplugged it and walked to the door, opening it and allowing my two dogs to run free in the backyard. I smiled a little as they dashed out and quickly followed, opening the SoundCloud app and searching up a remix of All Hail Shadow. Singing along as the phone played at its loudest volume, I sat at the patio's edge and waited for the dogs to finish and return. Once they did, I started walking inside, but froze./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"My brown eyes - yes, brown - locked onto something in the window's reflection. I froze and slowly opened the door. My dogs went inside and I shut the door behind them, staying on the patio. I saw movement and noticed my mom in the kitchen, shrugging in an exaggerated way as if asking, "What're you doing?" I waved it off./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Gonna go run." I called through the window. She nodded and I turned back around. emDid she not notice the-/em/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Gone. That...thing I saw in the window was gone./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Wait, no!" I hurried over, just five feet away from one of the four trees in my yard. I bent down and gasped. In my fingers was a small white hair. emFrom what?/em I wondered. Then I shook my hand, hard, and let go of the hair./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Being a natural freak, I was what my family called a germaphobe. I hated any risk of germs...I rarely even shared an eating utensil with my parents, let alone my older sister, who found it very irritating./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""It looks like Shadow's chest fur!" I shouted. Then I remembered I had neighbors and put my hand over my mouth. "Oops... Shadow's chest fur!" I whispered. I looked over and found it caught between two blades of grass. I hurried and picked it up, noticing that the wind was growing faster. I hurried inside, my fist clenched possessively around the hair, my other hand holding my phone which still blasted All Hail Shadow. I hummed along until it ended as I stood at the bar, then closed out the app and plugged my phone back in. I returned to the computer and went to my school website, opening another tab for YouTube, as I checked to see if my schedule was all that I signed up for./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As I did so, I used YouTube to look up all sorts of songs from my favorite anime, the aforementioned InuYasha, as well as any fanmade music videos. I sighed deeply, contentedly. All of my classes were ones I wanted. I exited the website and sat back./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emSchool starts in a couple weeks. /emI thought absentmindedly as I hummed along to Skillet's Falling in the Black. emMan, something like five weeks. I've already wasted half my summer. Maybe I should see a movie this week. Or go swimming. Maybe just go running around. /emI sighed and yawned. "Ah, well." I decided it best to go take a nap, especially considering I had been staying up really late the last couple days, and I was physically exhausted. My mind...now that was a different story. But still, it would be wise. Not to mention... I uncurled my tightly clenched fist and gazed down at the white hair as it rested innocently on my palm. Sighing, I let one last song finish before closing out the internet and logging off of my computer./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I walked into my room and set the hair down on my desk next to my bed. "I'll look at that later." I murmured. I then curled up on my bed, leaning against a big pillow I had resting against the wall. It was there mainly for naps, and for me to use as a position if I wasn't supposed to be napping and got caught. I could easily grab my phone or 3DS - whatever was closer, and say I was playing on it./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I slept the day away, having no dreams at all. I woke up when the scent of fish hit my nose. I sat up. "Ahh-! I'm gonna be late for dinner!" I threw on my bathrobe before bolting out of my room and into the kitchen. "I was getting my PJ's on!" I cried, my hair pressed to my head. I inwardly groaned at my obvious lie, but sat in my usual spot at the table anyways./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Dinner was uneventful, except for cleanup. One of my dogs got up and began licking from my sister's butter dish, and in my rush to get him away, I pushed my robe into my own butter dish. I groaned and glared up at my dog. I then snapped my fingers before pointing down, a signal the dog knew meant 'Now I'm ticked. Get down.' He did as he was told and leapt down to the floor. I got up and hurried to my room, taking my robe off and tossing it onto my bed before running back to help clean up./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Afterwords, I sat in my TV room on the couch, playing around on my phone. Boredom overwhelmed me and I eventually opened SoundCloud and began listening to different songs. First, Sonic Boom from Sonic CD, and from there I let the app play its 'related' stuff. The second song was Dreams of an Absolution, which I had grown to love in that one day. I now sang along as I went to the living room. After hugging my parents goodnight, I went to the bar and plugged my phone in, then sang along until it ended before going to my room, still singing it./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"My lively mind was always thinking of 'clips' that I thought would go perfect with any songs that I liked, or just happened to get stuck in my head. Since I didn't have a YouTube account, I made my own music videos. I guess one could say it was the YouTube of my mind. Or they could say I'm really creative./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Or really weird./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"I fell asleep, the last image to cross my mind being one of Sonic, Shadow, and Silver standing in a circle, facing outward, fighting off Eggman's robots./p 


	2. Bonds are Formed

**So after about 31 minutes of having posted the first chapter, I got a story follower! Thanks to** ImortalLinkToFate **I have decided to continue right away! I noticed there were only old and forgotten Sonic fanfictions lately, so maybe they were just relieved. Well, I'm here to help! Please enjoy chapter 2!**

I opened my eyes to see... Sonic, Shadow, and Silver standing in a circle, all facing out, fighting off Eggman's robots.

 _Wait, what?_ I sat up and looked around. _Wait, I'm in the middle of this circle! Huh?_ I looked up and saw Sonic, of course, his back to me. "S-Sonic!" I called. The blue hedgehog froze, and I saw his quills raise slightly.

Hearing movement, I turned to look at Silver, staring at me. He looked just as confused as I felt. Then I remembered... _This is all just a dream. I can control everything!_ I smirked and stood up. "All of you come hug me!" I cried.

But the result was not what I expected at all. Sonic turned around with a look of shock, Silver tilted his head, and I heard a "What?!" from Shadow.

I chuckled a little, nervous. My red hair hung just past my shoulders and seemed to go further down my arms as I shrunk into myself. "Er...please? This is my dream." I replied. I turned to see Shadow dropping his stance and turning to face me. I smiled a little, until I was greeted by a glare. "You aren't dreaming. Get that through your thick red skull."

I gasped. "Shadow! Wait, of course I am! You guys aren't real, y'know. Duh!" I chuckled. "So come hug me!" I reached my arms out and hugged Shadow tightly, only until being shoved away. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was blushing. I laughed and stepped back. "Okay, no hugs for the crabby hedgie. Soni- wait! Eggman!" I pushed Shadow back to the outside of the circle and joined at his side between him and Sonic. Shadow rolled his eyes and kept fighting.

"Wait, guys! I can help!" I turned to face them. "Sonic, can you get me up there to Eggman?" I asked, and seeming to know there wasn't much time to be suspicious, he nodded and quickly picked me up bridal style before leaping up to meet Eggman. Hiding my obvious blush, I waited until he was just a foot from Eggman's transport, and leapt on. I grabbed the small bit of glass that acted as a windshield, remembering that I never trusted myself up high. Ignoring my fear, I searched the control panel for any button that would shut it off, but found none. It wasn't like I knew this thing by heart! Quickly, I found a lever with a red knob and grabbed it, yanking it in my direction. I smirked up at Eggman, who was growling as he struggled to shoo me off.

"Hey, get off!" I heard Silver's voice shout from below. I looked down and nodded, jumping. I prepared my ankles for the pain of landing, but I only felt a gentle embrace over my shoulders and legs. I looked up to see Sonic grinning at me. "Nice work!" he said.

 _Wait, he's talking to me?_ "Uh, Sonic, I didn't really do anything..." I watched Eggman fly off, strangely quiet this time. But my thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"There's another weird thing! How do you know our names?!" Shadow demanded.

I sighed. "Because you guys are the best video game characters ever! ...and for a dream, you guys don't seem very dream-like." I said. As Sonic set me down, I noticed they were looking up at me. "Oh, and I'm taller than you!" I pumped my fist in the air in a silent cheer.

"That's irrelevant." Shadow snapped.

"How can we prove to you that this is real?" Sonic asked, arms now crossed over his chest.

I saw Silver nod. "Yeah, I'm kind of offended that you don't think we're real. Also...what video game?"

I smiled at him. "Glad you asked. There's so much Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise, over 100 games, and you just had your 24th anniversary a couple months ago!" I started getting hyper and had to take a deep breath so I didn't end up hugging the three of them tightly, but it was too late. The next thing I knew, Sonic was in my arms, held close to my chest as I nuzzled his ear a little. He squirmed a little, but I could tell he wasn't too upset about receiving a hug. I smiled and let him go, noting a slight blush on his cheeks.

My next victim was Silver, and I ran to him, picking him up in a tight hug. "Mm...Y'know some people call you Fluffy. Now I can not only see, but _feel_ why!"

After releasing Silver, I took a step toward Shadow. "Please...Shadz?" I smirked a little as he gave in to the nickname I gave him, walking closer and holding his arms out, despite keeping his blood-red orbs focused to the side, away from me.

"Shaduuu!" I cried. "I love you guys so much!" I knelt down for Shadow's hug, because I was too happy to hold him up. I ran a finger along his quills, smiling. I then sat back and looked at them. "So...you guys are telling me that this isn't a dream...that I'm really on Mobius right now?" I asked, elbows now locked as my hands rested on my knees. I saw all three of them nod. "Well...Am I stuck here? Is Tails around? Maybe he can help me."

"Maybe. I'll go get him. In fact, let's all go. We'll show you where you can stay for now." Sonic replied. I nodded and followed them all away.

We finally arrived at Sonic's home town. I saw Knucles walking towards us. He looked suspicious of me. I chucked nervously and shook Sonic's shoulder as he walked in front of me. "Um...Knuckles looks kind of...not exactly happy with me being here." I whispered. The blue blur nodded and walked up to Knuckles. I saw them exchange some words, and Knuckles' face softened a little. I sighed in relief but then got roughly shoved forward. Since Silver was on my right, I knew it was Shadow who'd just committed the action. Ignoring his attitude, I kept walking and offered Knuckles my hand. "I'm Addison. I'm not an enemy, just new here." I told him. He nodded and shook my hand, which took a load off my shoulders.

I turned to Sonic. "Any clue where Tails is?" I asked. Seeing him nod, I held my hand out. "After you." He winked at me and led us to what appeared to be a workshop.

 _Of course! Where else would Tails spend his free time?_ I thought as we all walked in. I smiled as the kitsune looked up at us and set his wrench down, his tails twirling as he flew over. He landed in front of me and looked me up and down.

"Wow! You're not from around here. The only human we usually see is Eggman! Tell me, how'd you get here? What's your name?" He pulled a notepad off the nearest shelf and began scribbling down my responses as I created them, grinning.

"My name is Addison. I don't really know how I got here. Last thing I remember is having dinner with my family, then gong to sleep!"

We were interrupted by Sonic, who stepped in between us with his arms out, facing Tails.

"Buddy, ask questions later. Addison needs our help. Specifically, your help. Can't you get like a...portal or something, to send her back home?"

The two-tailed fox shrugged. "I can't come up with something right away. It'll take some time. Just wait."

Sonic nodded and grabbed my hand. I looked down at him. He was smiling up at me. "Don't worry, Addison, we'll get you home as soon as we can."

I nodded. "Thanks. But there's no real rush. I mean...I kinda like it here!" I replied.

He gave me a thumbs-up with his free hand. "Thanks!" He led me off to another place, probably his home.

I looked around the new building and smiled. "Nice place!"

Sonic kept walking. "Thanks! Does it look anything like your home?" he asked, looking up at me. I could've been wrong, but I thought I saw slight concern in his emerald orbs.

In all honesty, it did look a bit like my home. "Yeah, it kinda does." I replied. I tried to give him a reassuring smile. I really didn't want any of them wasting time worrying about me. The last thing I wanted was to be like a Mary-Sue. I then became more determined than ever to prove my worth to them, and earn my stay with more than just sympathy.

A burst of energy now surging through my body, I released his hand and turned to him. "Sonic, I really appreciate all the help you've given me so far. I only ask one more favor."

He nodded. "Anything!"

I couldn't help but smirk. "Can you take me to Eggman's lair?" I watched as he debated this.

"Do you want someone coming with you?" he asked, looking a little worried now.

I shrugged. "If you want. I just need to be there soon." I replied.

He nodded and picked me up again. I grinned wide. "Thanks, Sonic!" We were gone in a flash, Sonic having left a note.

In about 10 seconds, we were in front of a huge base. Robots were everywhere. "Sonic...I got it from here. Thanks a ton!" I said as he set me down. I went off on the robots. Since I was too tired to really pick them up, and maybe too weak, I pressed on by kicking them and ripping their circuits apart. I laughed as I looked up to see a furious Robotnik in the doorway. "Hey, Eggface! What's scramblin'?" I called, unable to hold my laughter in at my own joke. I heard Sonic laugh from behind me. I was secretly glad he stayed; I really enjoyed his company.

Dr. Eggman frowned at me. "What are you doing? Humans stick with humans!" he called.

I rolled my eyes at the mustached man. "Not this human! I know how it goes with you, Eggman! Sonic and the others aren't the ones trying to take over the universe! Rather, they _save_ it! From _you_!"

Adrenaline rushed through me and I ran at him. I heard him let out a yell of shock as I tackled him, grinning. "Leave them alone! Or else!" I snapped.

But he wouldn't give in so easily. He threw me off and reached to a wall beside him.

 _That blue button!_ "SONIC!" I got up and ran over to him as fast as I could. I saw a machine behind him. A laser fired from it at the confused hedgehog. I couldn't get to him in time. It shot him.

"SOOONIIIIIIIC!"

I grabbed the hedgehog as he fell, limp, to the ground. "Sonic, NO! SHADOW! SILVER! _HELP_!" I looked around, panicking as Sonic groaned in my arms. I felt something hot and sticky flow over my arm and looked down to see a thin red line. "He's bleeding!" I whispered. Anger overtook my body as I set him down and went for the machine. It fired at me, but I dodged it...mostly. My right shoulder now bleeding and going numb, along with my whole arm, I wrapped my arms around the machine as I sat on it, yanking it up and trying to destroy it.

"You're hopeless." Eggman said. He sent a robot over to Sonic, but I was closer. I ran over to the unconscious hedgehog and kicked the robot. As it came back, I grabbed one of the wheels and furiously ripped it off.

"SHUT UP, Eggface! I may not be as strong as Sonic and the others, but I am no helpless damsel! If anybody is, YOU are because your plans all FAIL! You're a big fat FAILURE! The only good thing that any of your kin have created was Shadow the Hedgehog! And he's with Sonic and the others because he's truly a good person, unlike YOU!"

I walked right over and kicked him hard between the legs before hurrying over to Sonic. I picked him up and ran off, nearly crying.

I returned to the town about five minutes later, and Shadow was the first to greet me. I flinched and prepared for an insult, but he was silent. "Uh...Shadow? Are you okay?"

He was looking down, but I saw him nod a little. I smiled a little, then fell to my knees. I looked up at him, knowing hot tears were fresh in my eyes. "Sonic got shot, and it's all my fault! I'm sorry!" I hugged the blue hedgehog close to my chest, stroking his quills gently. "I'm so sorry..." I whispered. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up.

"Don't be. You did what you could." said a voice...but not Shadow's.

"But Silver..." I protested. "Will he be okay?"

He nodded and reached out for Sonic. I froze, then kissed the injured Mobian's forehead before handing him off to Silver. I wished I could've held on to him, just a bit longer...

"Thank you...Addison. I'll - nngh - be fine..." Sonic weakly replied. I saw him wince and shift, trying to avoid the pain. It must've been bad. It made me go numb, but what about him? What if he stayed in pain?

I quickly sat up and hugged him. "If you say so..."

I broke down when he hugged me back, but I held it in as much as I could, for his sake.

Sonic was soon pulled away by Silver, and I was left alone with Shadow. Wiping my eyes, I sat back down and looked away.

"Did you mean it?" Shadow asked.

I looked up at him. "Mean what?" I asked with a sniffle.

He sat down and looked at me. From behind my hair, I saw a look of longing in his eyes. Longing, and sorrow.

"That I'm...good?"

I sat up straight. "Shadow...You were created for a good purpose, but partially in bad blood. In the end, you chose to stay with the good people. You're one of the purest people I know." I replied quietly. I put my hand over his, causing him to look up at me. I gasped when I saw tears in his eyes.

"I let Maria die." he said, staring straight at me. It was like he was looking through me. "I watched her die and didn't do anything." he continued.

I leaned over and pulled him into a hug. It hurt me to see him like this.

"Shadow. You were stuck. She did that on purpose to protect you. She wanted you to live." I whispered into his ear. I stroked his back, careful not to push or pull his quills. I felt him shaking a little and realized he was crying. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Let it out, Shadow...I'm here for you." I murmured.

Soon, I felt him pull away, teeth clenched and hands in fists. His eyes were squeezed shut. "Would it...bother you if I said you look a little like Maria...?"

I gasped and reached a hand up to feel my hair. _That's right. Before I came here, I got a haircut. And I did notice it's the same length as Maria's hair. Just about the same style, too._ I thought with a smile. I nodded and put a hand on his arm. "No. I sorta thought so too. Thank you."

He nodded and looked away. "Either way, I'm sorry. I'll try and get you back home, as well. I've wasted enough of your time." He stood up to leave, but I found myself grabbing his wrist.

"Wait-! Er... Please, stay. U-unless you're busy, I mean..."

A small smile lit up his face and he sat down. "I'm never busy. Almost."

I sighed in relief. "Shadow, I...I'm really sorry about Maria. But I know how it feels to lose somebody you love. I had a friend...he was everything to me. We spent all our time together. That is, until one day..."

 _"Come on, Addison!" A brown-haired boy reached out to a little red-haired girl, who shook her head, tiny hands pressed to her chest._

 _"No, Jason. We shouldn't cross the street yet."_

 _"Well, I'm gonna, or my name isn't Jason Beller!"_

 _The boy kept running, then turned to the right. He froze. Bright lights distracted him from all else. I screamed his name over and over but he didn't respond. The last thing I heard from him was a cry cut short._

I sighed, tears flowing down my cheeks. "We were in second grade..." I muttered.

I guess it was Shadow's turn to hug me, because that's what he did next. I smiled and buried my face in his shoulder. "I promise he's watching over you now." Shadow murmured.

I nodded. "As is Maria." We pulled away and exchanged a small laugh.

"Shadow...I don't know if I want to leave yet. Everyone here is so nice. Including you." I told him with a little smile.

"Well, first I need to take you back in. It's getting cold out." he replied.

I followed him to Sonic's house, where we went to said hedgehog's room and found the blue blur asleep. I immediately knelt down and leaned against the bed, closing my eyes. I felt something lean on my left, and looked over to see Shadow. I smiled a little and pulled him close, protectively. I fell asleep, his face buried in the crook of my neck and my head resting on his shoulder. Sonic was right at the bed's edge.

I thought of this as one of the best moments of my life, and I knew that I was going to enjoy my time here in Mobius, however long that would be.


	3. Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again

**Heyoooo! I see you guys like it! Thanks so much! Just a little note: I'm updating once or twice a day now because I got this account a couple days ago. But once school starts I won't be able to go so fast. I'll work on each chapter before and after school, but I'll only post them after I finish. I also read them to myself many times, which is my own way of spell-checking myself. Disclaimer: I own NOTHING except the plot and Addison. Also, I'm feeling lazy lately and somewhat sluggish, so I'm sorry if these take forever.**

 **Update: 9-25-15 Just finished this chapter. yes it is a bit short. Sorry but I need it to be. I have an actual idea of where this story is going now so don't be harsh. Feel free to review, as it inspires and encourages me. ;)**

I opened my eyes to see...My own room. Panicking, I looked around. "Sh-Shadow? Sonic?! Where'd you guys go?" I sat up and looked for the hedgehogs, but they were nowhere. "Ahh! Sonic!"

I heard a door open and looked up to see if it was one of them. But, it was my mom, who looked really confused. "Addison, what's wrong?"

"Uhh...How am I back home?" I asked. This was impossible. Wasn't I just at Mobius?

"Maybe because that's where you were last night?" my mom suggested, now sounding kind of incredulous.

"Heh...Right...Anything planned for today?" _I'll figure all this out later._

My mom shook her head and turned to go. "I was going to do some yard work today. Why, did you have anything planned?"

I shook my head quickly. "Nope. Nothing. I was actually hoping you'd say that so I could lie around and...Play Sonic Colors today." I replied. I forced a smile so she didn't think I was nuts.

She shrugged. "Fine with me. Text me if you feel sick..." she said, walking out.

"I-I was just kidding!" I called with a chuckle.

"Oh."

I sighed and got up. Looking down at myself, I realized I needed a shower, so I got ready for one. Once I was safe in the concealment of my wonderful curtains, I began trying to figure out what had happened.

 _I followed Shadow to Sonic's house, where we went to Sonic's room and found the blue blur asleep. I immediately knelt down and leaned against the bed, closing my eyes. I felt something lean on my left, and looked over to see Shadow. I smiled a little and pulled him close, protectively. I fell asleep, his face buried in the crook of my neck and my head resting on his shoulder. Sonic was right at the bed's edge._

After that, I woke up here. _Ugh! I knew it was a dream! Still, they were uncooperative. Oh well. Can't win 'em all, I suppose._ As I rinsed my fresh-cut hair, a small smile spread over my face.

 _Soon, I felt him pull away, teeth clenched and hands in fists. His eyes were squeezed shut. "Would it...bother you if I said you look a little like Maria...?" I gasped and reached a hand up to feel my hair._ That's right. Before I came here, I got a haircut. And I did notice it's the same length as Maria's hair. Just about the same style, too. _I thought with a smile. I nodded and put a hand on his arm. "No. I sorta thought so too. Thank you."_

I sighed as the memories of the dream flooded my head. "Whatever. It's just a dream."

I finished and got out of the shower, humming a song that I made up as I went along. Then I stopped.

 _If it was a dream, how come they insisted it wasn't? And how come they were trying to get me "back home"? I am home! None of this is making sense..._ I sighed deeply and went back to my room, not bothering to do anything besides get dressed (a blue T-shirt and shorts) and brush out my hair. As I layed down on my bed, I looked over my shoulder at my shelving unit on the other side of the room. I sat up and stared at it for probably a minute before standing up and slowly walking over.

I bent down and allowed my fingers to gently wrap around the small, soft object. "I still don't understand..." I held it close to my chest and stared down at it, my hair falling and some resting on it. Utter confusion clouded my view of it and for a bit, all I could do was stare. I couldn't comprehend anything. I walked back and sat in my bed.

 _I was also wearing the same clothes as when I fell asleep. Not to mention, in a dream, people don't_ feel _stuff. But...I did. I felt Sonic holding me...Silver's hand on my shoulder, Shadow's hug._

 _Why is this bothering me so much? Maybe I'm overreacting. No, I know I am._ I shook my head and set the precious belonging down, in a little space I always kept open for my phone or a book. I covered it up with the spare napping pillow I had, sighing deeply. That thing was years old, yet I kept it for it held such precious memories in it. Ignoring all thoughts of my "dream"/dream, I sighed and sat back.

Then another thought struck my mind. My head snapped to the side as my hand flew up to block my face from my flying hair. After pulling the ginger curls behind my ear, I reached over and picked up the small white hair. _It could be from anything. A squirrel...Um..._

At a loss for any more animals that lived in my neighborhood with white fur, I set it back down and flopped back onto my bed, groaning loudly. One of my pet peeves was being unsure or confused, and that was the perfect description of me currently. Yet another heavy sigh escaped from me, and I looked over at my door. _Maybe I'll just...go play some Sonic or something._ I thought. I got up and left, closing the door behind me to protect the treasures of my room from the fangs of playful dogs.

I went to my couch to take a little time off from my frustration and turned on my Wii. Grabbing the blue controller and white nunchuck, I sat down. _No pun intended, for Sonic I mean. It's just, I've always loved blue, since before I knew of Sonic._ I thought with a chuckle. _Oh well._

I clicked on the Sonic Colors icon of the Home Menu, waiting as the game loaded.

 _Man, I'm only one "world" away from being done with this game, but the first level of the escape is so hard...! I think I'll just go to Planet Wisp and play around._ I clicked on the world and played on my Wii for hours, until I finally gave up and turned it off. _I was gonna try the escape level, but I don't feel ready yet. Hm._ I walked over to my dog. "I'm gonna go outside. Wanna come with?" I asked. Raising my voice at the end caused him to tilt his head. "Yeah, you wan' go'tside?" I asked. That was usually what led to him leaping up on my legs and having a quick pet before running outside.

The wind was blowing furiously outside, so I took this time to run straight into it, forgetting everything about the previous night. As I reached the fence and turned around, my hair flew in my face, and I saw a flash of orange. Laughing, I pushed it out of my face and kept running. My dog ran past me and around my legs. In my race to avoid hurting him, I tripped over myself and tumbled down, landing on my back in a laughing fit. My dog ran up to me and began licking my face, tail wagging fast. He sat down and panted. As I sat up, he stood up, and I scratched him behind the ears. "You're a good boy, but you can't run like that, silly!" I kissed his nose, then picked him up and went inside.

"Lunchtime. What now?" I set my dog down, watching as he went for the water bowl. I checked to make sure it was clean before picking out a small frozen sandwich and a bag of chips before relaxing on the couch. "I don't know why I was so worked up. It was a dream, I probably was cold so I hugged myself last night." I muttered.

After finishing, I threw my trash away and curled up for a nap.

* * *

I opened my eyes and stretched. "Man, did I even get any sleep at all?" I asked myself. Then I almost screamed.

 _Shadow!_ I looked up. _Sonic!_ I looked down to see my arms still wrapped around the black and red hedgehog, whose face was now buried in my stomach. The weight of his head was obvious. I ran my finger along his quills and felt the smooth surface. I smiled a little as Shadow let out a cute moan.

But there was one thought that wouldn't leave my head.

 _I'm back on Mobius!_

Awe and wonder filled my heart. "How can this..."

Shadow's ear twitched and he pulled his head up to look at me through half-lidded eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked groggily. I knew this side of him was not often shown, so I decided not to fangirl about it now, but instead shake my head.

"Nothing. Sorry. Bad dream." I turned my head to look at Sonic, who was out cold and snoring quietly. I reached up and lightly touched his arm with my finger. Watching as he flinched away from my touch, I giggled quietly and turned to Shadow once more. I was about to ask him how long it had been since we came here, but I was shocked to discover his eyes were closed. I gently guided his head back to my lap, where he then made himself comfortable before sighing deeply and returning to his rest.

As I watched over them, I started wondering what was happening. _How is it that I feel everything that happens here? And the way they talk to me-I'm almost sure this isn't a dream. Not to mention, no dreams are this continuous and specific. And I usually forget my dreams before I even have a chance to eat breakfast! So...what if this isn't a dream? What if Mobius...really does exist?_

I shook my head and chuckled. "That's ridiculous." I muttered. I sighed and leaned back, now rubbing Shadow's back, a small part of me doubting my own thoughts.

A tiny, hopeful voice sounded in the back of my head, saying _It's true...all of it._


	4. SEGA and Chaos Control

**All I have to say is...REVIEWS! I like em. A lot. Just sayin'.**

 **Okay I'm having some issues. updates might be slow as I'm pissed off right now. Just typed up 200 or so words and it all got erased when it took me to another freaking link that I never even clicked. I'm so pissed cuz it was good dammit. Life is a bitch.**

* * *

I sighed quietly. _I'm back. I'm on Mobius again. Do they know? Was I even gone in the first place?_ I looked around again and saw that Sonic was starting to get up. Shadow was, too. I got up once Shadow was off of me and stood up.

"Man...That hurt. I'm better now though...thanks, Addison." Sonic said to me. I nodded and watched Shadow stretch before breaking the news to them.

"Guys...I was back on Earth. My home planet."

They looked up at me, incredulous.

"I know it sounds weird," I continued, "but as soon as I go to sleep in one world, I wake up in the other."

Sonic frowned, and he looked confused. "Whaddya mean? How is that possible? You're going between planets, aren't ya?"

I nodded. "I guess. But I gotta ask you a favor. I need help convincing myself that this isn't all one big dream. A part of me doesn't believe in any of this...and can you blame me?"

Shadow looked at Sonic. "I know how to make her believe. Let her feel anChaos Emerald, if we weren't enough."

I couldn't help but gasp at his statement. "Shadow..."

"If it's the only way to really convince you that were not fake, then I'll do it." the black hedgehog told me.

I nodded. "I suppose. Thank you."

He nodded and walked off, mostly to get an Emerald.

Now alone with him, I turned to Sonic. "Hey, Sonic..."

He looked at me, but he had a look of concern in his eyes. "What is it?"

I smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about me. I may be a little confused now, but I'm sure things will get sorted out soon."

He nodded and winked at me, even giving his signature thumbs-up. "Okay. And hey, thanks for saving me back there."

I froze, then chuckled. "No problem. It's the least I could do for my favorite video game chara- er, hero!" I sighed and was grateful he didn't mention my scrambled words to me.

He chuckled. "No problem. Just give Shadow a sec to get an Emerald and you'll be okay."

I nodded and we walked out to get some fresh air.

When we were out there, I started humming 'His World' from Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. Said hedgehog turned to me and stopped walking.

"What's that?" he asked.

I couldn't help but smile at him. "It's your theme." I replied.

"Well, I do like the way it sounds, but I've never heard it before." he said. "Even though it sounds familiar."

I decided to tell him everything, and held back the urge to hug him. "Nine years ago, a game was made. Sonic the Hedgehog, 2006. It was for your fifteenth anniversary of being popular on Earth. You're a hero. A figure that kids and adults look up to." I said. Then I sighed. "It's too bad...that game was so...disliked because f the glitches and such...but the truth is, I wanna play it. I don't care what others say. As upsetting as the whole Sonic slash Elise thing may be, that game...it was a milestone for you, or at least represented one. Fifteen years of you being there for your friends, the group always growing, changing, getting stronger...And I missed it all. I never once knew...And I ignored it all...And now it's too late. It's been nine years..." I closed my eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry..." I put a hand up to cover my eyes as tears started coming out.

I heard Sonic move and looked up, gasping when he grabbed my wrist and moved my arm away.

"Don't be sad. I'm glad you wanna play it." he said, green eyes shining as he smiled up at me. "I never knew I was popular in your home planet, but if you can love something, despite everyone else's feelings, then I know you mean what you say."

I sighed and nodded. "You're right. Sorry, Sonic." A smile forced its way out of me as he hugged me, his small body pressing into mine. I hugged him back, then picked him up. "You're light!" I giggled. But, seeing the blush on his cheeks and the nervous smile he gave me, I set him down. "Sorry!" I giggled again and sat down. "I suppose we wait for Shadow now, hm?"

Sonic sat beside me, nodding. "Yeah..." Then he looked up at me. "How many games are there for me?"

I looked over at him. "Over 90, and the numbers grow every year. You were also in a parade, twice that I know of. Sadly, the first time, high winds blew your balloon into a lamppost and...Well, it exploded, but you're still very loved. Many kids around the world play your games, and there are arcades with them too!"

Sonic tilted his head. "But how do they know about me? How did they discover me?"

I thought for a second. "Sega? Well, you were created by a man who worked there and they started developing your games and such. I dunno if 'discovered' is the right word...Hey, Shadow had his own game, too!" I said, seeing the black and red hedgehog coming over with a Chaos Emerald in his hand. Seeing it was the green one, I couldn't help but say, "Look! It's That Damn Fourth Chaos Emerald!" I chuckled.

Sadly, he didn't find it amusing, at all. He was suddenly inches from my face. "How do you know about that?!"

Eyes wide, I leaned back. "Whaddya mean?! You mean it actually happened?"

He nodded. "Yes, it did. Now answer my question-HOW do you know?"

I shook my head. "I swear, it's not what it seems! Like I was explaining to Sonic, a company called Sega made all of you famous on my home planet, and in addition to Sonic's games, you got one. In it you said that: 'Where's that damn fourth Chaos Emerald?!'"

Shadow frowned. "Humph."

Sonic looked down. "But if Shadow remembers the Chaos Emerald phrase, how come I don't recognize this Elise person?"

I looked at him. "That's because what happened in his game, for the most part, still happened. The events of your 2006 game were ultimately erased from your timeline." I said.

He sighed. "Alright..." He looked over at Shadow. "But doesn't Sega sound familiar?" he asked quietly.

Shadow shrugged, seemingly not caring as he held the Emerald out to me. "Hold it." the raven hedgehog commanded. I nodded and held my hand out, then gasped as I felt its weight.

I stared at it, then reached my other hand up and pulled the jewel to my chest, holding it tightly. A small smile came over my face as I thought of what I was doing. _I'm holding a Chaos Emerald...Something that's been a part of Sonic's life forever...Something so precious...And they're telling me to hold it...To help me! I can feel the power surging through me...It's like the Emerald wants to tell me something! But...what?_

Suddenly, everything in front of me faded. A faint scene played out in front of me.

 _A helicopter, all white. There were dark blue letters plastered on the side of it, but I couldn't make it out. I looked past the helicopter to see a town, filled with lots of people-no, Mobians! They were all screaming and running inside. And there! Sonic, and Shadow! Amy, Tails, and Knuckles were with them. Suddenly, they all fell to the ground except for Shadow as humans shot them with some dart guns. Shadow ran at them, but was soon taken down and choked until he passed out. The humans wrote lots down on their notepads. At the first sign of the Mobian creatures awakening, they ran into the helicopter and flew off, to what I noticed was a spaceship._

Sonic looked up at me. "Addison? Hello?! Are you okay?!"

Looking down at him, I sighed and held it out to Shadow once again, nodding. "Thank you...so much. I believe it now." _Something tells me I shouldn't tell them what I saw yet...But did that really happen?_

Suddenly overcome with confusion and anger, I fell to my knees. Sonic and Shadow rushed forward, looking at me.

"What's wrong?!" Sonic asked, grabbing my arm.

Shadow had a firm grip on my wrist. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine, guys...I'm just...I dunno. Is it okay if we go...to town, or something?" I asked quietly. "I wanna see Station Square in person." I feigned a smile as I said this, but something on both of their faces told me they didn't believe me. Thankfully, they went with it though, and we headed out.

* * *

Sonic turned to me and gestured toward a building that said 'Chili and Dog's Eatery. "Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

I smiled. "Sure thing!"

Walking in, I saw the blue hedgehog got a lot of recognition from other customers inside. "Sonic!" they cried. We were immediately led to a table, and served just as quickly.

I ordered some raspberry tea, and Sonic got lemonade. Not wanting much, but also not wanting to be rude, Shadow just ordered water. Naturally, the blue blur got a plate of four chilidogs, and Shadow said he'd share with Sonic. Indecisive, I got a cheeseburger with everything but tomato and onion on it.

When we got our food, Sonic handed Shadow a chilidog before eating the rest like his life depended on it. Watching him was actually somewhat amusing, and rather adorable. As was with Shadow's eating; the black and red hedgehog was very reserved in how he ate, quiet and polite. I wanted to hug them both on the spot, but didn't as we were now surrounded by other citizens. I ate my cheeseburger quickly, and Sonic, being full of rings all the time, paid for it all.

"Thanks a ton, Sonic." I said as we walked out. "The food here on Mobius is really good." I let out a small burp, and Sonic laughed.

"No problem, Addison!" he said. "Now, I just remembered, I have somewhere you might wanna be." He grabbed my hand, and Shadow's, and ran off towards another building.

As we walked in, I gasped and froze. "Sega..."

"This is what Tails got with his camera, as they came. Nobody remembers anything. When we all woke up, he said this was all he had as far as evidence of what might've happened. It sounds familiar because we often all try to remember what happened, but it doesn't help anything." Sonic explained to me.

The picture on the wall was clear. A white helicopter with the word _SEGA_ printed across the side, in dark blue letters. _So that's what it said!_

"Everybody but me came to with holes in their arms and chests, like they were shot by something, but I was the only one without one. But my throat hurt.." Shadow said, closing his eyes.

I looked down at them. "Guys...I saw it."

They looked up at me. "What?"

"When you handed me the Chaos Emerald, Shadow, I saw everything happen. I didn't understand, but now that you tell me, I realize, that Emerald showed me. Did you have them all at the time?" I asked.

Sonic nodded. "At the time, I did."

"Then all seven of them must, in a sense, 'know' what happened." I said. "Sega. A gaming company whose mascot is you, Sonic the Hedgehog...'came up with you' by invading Mobius. They must've been writing information." I gasped. "Sonic...I think you're in trouble. They may come back for you, seeing as they have every now and then for how you've grown."

The blue hedgehog frowned. "Then let me come with you to your planet."

"NO!" I grabbed his arms, kneeling down so I was at his level. "Humans are reckless. If they knew you were real, they'd take you and do awful things. I'm pretty sure Sega has only kept it a secret so they could get money by using you. Anybody else would automatically start tests on you or kidnap you. Some may even try to kill you!"

He sighed. "As long as they're not doing that stuff already, I suppose it's okay."

I shrugged a little, releasing him. "I guess so..."

Shadow looked down, and I could've sworn I heard him say something.

Something like, "I have a bad feeling about all of this. If the Chaos Emeralds went to trouble to show you..."

I looked over at him. "They haven't done anything yet."

Sonic nodded. "True. You both are right."

Just then, Tails flew over. "Guys! Something is coming our way! It's big, and coming really fast! It says Sega, too!"

I gasped. "NO!" I grabbed Sonic and Shadow, easily lifting them both up before running off to find cover. "Follow me, Tails!"

Seemingly stunned, Tails did as I said and flew after me.

In my arms, Sonic struggled to get free. "What're you doing?! Are you gonna take us to them?!" he asked. He sounded...scared.

"I would never do such a thing!" I replied, my vision growing blurry as I heard the screams of villagers behind us.

I felt Shadow grab my arm, and looked down at him. "Oh no...!" Two humans were running after me, and they were faster than I was.

I suddenly screamed, aiming it at both of the hedgehogs in my arms, "USE CHAOS CONTROL!"

* * *

I gasped. "Where are we?!"

"We're safe..." Sonic told me. I looked up to realise I was laying down, and a purple blanket was over me. On either side of me sat Sonic and Shadow, watching me. I closed my eyes and groaned. "Did Chaos Control work?"

Sonic's voice sounded on my left. "It did. But...you may not be happy to learn where it took us."

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "Whaddya mean?!"

Then I looked around and gasped as I recognised this place. We were in my room, and it was pitch black outside.

I sat right up and wrapped my arms around them both, holding back a sob. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"

Shadow tried to pull away, but once he realised I wasn't letting go, he chuckled a little. "It's not your fault. They've been after us for years."

"Yeah." Sonic said, hugging me back. "I guess it was only a matter of time before we were sent here by Chaos Control."

I shrugged and nodded. "I guess...I mean, maybe..."

I still couldn't believe it. First, I appear in Sonic's world every time I sleep, and now this-Sonic and Shadow were in my bedroom!


	5. Chased, Caught, Carried Away

_**DISCLAIMER**_ _:_ _ **I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog, or any related characters, and I sure as hell don't own Sega. I only own Addison and the plot of this story.**_

* * *

I shivered. "Sonic!"

The blue hedgehog grabbed my hand in the dark. I felt him squeeze it as he quietly muttered, "It's okay."

I fell to my knees and wrapped my arms around him tightly. "But it's _not_ okay, Sonic! They're hunting you down! They're hurting you and making money off of you and-"

I felt another body press a small limb to mine as Shadow put his arm around my shoulders. "We'll find a way to get out of here. You shouldn't worry about us."

"But I can't help it!" I cried. "I just can't! I want you safe and happy! This is...the opposite...Sonic, you need to be back home. And you're not. You're here. In my house. Why me of all people?!" I pulled away from him and buried my face in my hands. "Why was I chosen to have Sonic and Shadow in _my_ house?! I don't deserve this! And they cretainly don't deserve the likes of me - especially since this is all my fault!"

A finger was pressed to my lips. "Shh..." Sonic soothed. "I _am_ happy here. Remember what you told me about my game from nine years ago? Well, that makes me happy. And it was you, so I'm just fine with being here." he said.

I smiled a little. "Y-you're lying."

"Now why would I lie?" he asked. I could practically hear the smile in his voice, which only served to make me smile as well.

"But then- What about you, Shadow?" I asked, turning to face his silhouette.

He shifted. "You seem genuinely concerned about our well-being, and willing to help us. I'm alright with being here as long as I need to." the dark hedgehog replied.

I beamed. "Thank you." I suddenly lurched forward and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close.

I felt him gently rest his face on my shoulder, and then, slowly at first, he put his arms up and lightly hugged me back, before suddenly tightening his grip into a full-on embrace.

"Addison..." Sonic breathed.

I looked up at him. "Y-yes?"

"Just enjoy it..." he barely whispered.

 _Good thing I can hear really well._ I thought, but nodded.

Beneath me, a soft, yet low voice spoke. "Mari- er, Addison..." He pulled away quickly. "I'm sorry...but you really do remind me of Maria..."

I hugged him back just as quickly. "It's fine!"

He only shook his head. "N-no, it doesn't matter..."

I tightened my embrace on him. "It _does_ matter, Shadow...You matter. I know because I also want to play your game." I told him, smiling. "You and Sonic are literally my two favourite Mobians."

I felt him hug me back once again. "...Thank you."

I couldn't help but nod and smile as he buried his face in my shoulder. "Anytime." I said.

I then stood up and reached up for my fan. Being only 5'1, I was short for my age, 13, but the 3'3 hedgehogs standing before me made me feel tall. I reached my arm up and yanked on a dangling switch that turned my fan light on, muttering an apology as Sonic and Shadow blinked.

"What should we do now?" Sonic asked.

I sighed. "I don't know. It's still night here. Are you hungry? I have a lot of food." I offered.

"Got any chilidogs?" the blue hedgehog asked. After I chuckled and shook my head, he said, "No, thanks then. I'll find some later on."

"Alright." I replied, nodding. "And Shadow, you're okay, right?"

The black and red hedgehog nodded. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you."

"Anytime." I said, winking at him. "Now, do you guys wanna go to sleep? Maybe we'll go back to Mobius like that." I offered.

"Usually, you went to our world by sleeping. But this time, all three of us were taken by Chaos Control. I don't know if sleeping will work for Sonic and me." Shadow told me.

I groaned quietly. "You're right. Ohh...do you still have the Chaos Emerald?" I asked.

Sonic shook his head. "I felt its presence vanish almost as soon as we used Chaos Control."

"Oh no..." I looked at him. "Does that mean we'll have to go and look for it?"

"Probably." Shadow chimed in.

"Damn it!" I sighed. "Well, this is all my fault. I'll help you gys, it's the least I could do." I looked down. "I feel kinda like Chris Thorndyke right now!" I chuckled.

Sonic looked at me. "You know him?" he asked.

I nodded, but then shook my head. "I don't know him personally. But I do know of him because he was in an anime of yours called Sonic X. Heh, I forgot to tell you...lots of shows and comics were made of you, too, not just games. And siding it all is merchandise!" I told him. "But that's not important right now. I know how we can look for that Chaos Emerald without being seen. You see, at around midnight, _nobody_ in this town is out, for whatever reason. Probably for respect to those who are asleep. Some shops are open, but they're very dim as far as lighting goes." I explained.

"What're we waiting for, then?" Sonic said. "Let's go!"

We headed to the door and I quietly opened it, hitting the switch off so my fan - light and petals - turned off. We all went to the front door and Sonic opened it, while Shadow came with me to get flashlights.

"I've only got two." I whispered. "My parents keep the third in their bedroom...I'm sorry."

Sonic shrugged. "It's okay. I'll share with Shadow."

I nodded, and together, we headed out into the yard. As I looked around my front yard, Sonic and Shadow went to go look in other people's yards. I quickly went over and pulled them back. "Don't!" I whispered.

"Why not?!" Shadow hissed. "You want our help, right?"

I nodded, but then sighed. "People on Earth aren't like those on Mobius. They're very territorial. If they see anybody intruding on their land, they won't hesitate to attack or call the authorities. And if they see _you_ , oh jeez...I can only imagine. Come on. I doubt it would've landed in anyone's yard without being noticed already anyways."

Shadow nodded and followed me out, but didn't look too happy about it.

Meanwhile, Sonic was waiting by the street. "Let's go!" he whispered.

 _He_ _must be excited to run_. I thought. _I would_ _be too, if I could go his speed_. I nodded, and Shadow and I headed over to him. Before I could even say where we should go, Sonic was gone, and a fading blue streak of neon light was in his place. I sighed. "This is gonna be a long night..." I chuckled, but followed him.

Shadow skated on ahead of me, but went at a pace that I could keep up with. I ran after him, and soon, I could see Sonic looking into a shop window. He appeared intrigued.

"What is that?" Shadow asked me as we came to a stop by the blue hedgehog.

"It's a restaurant." I explained. "They do sell chilidogs, but they're closed. Come on!" I grabbed them both by the arm and ran off.

Soon, I notice a small river. "The creek!" I whispered to myself. "This is where we can always mark how far we are, and how far we've been! Kind of like a checkpoint!"

The two Mobians looked at me and nodded slightly.

"...A place to see our progress?" I offered.

Sonic and Shadow suddenly nodded largely, understanding. I chuckled as Sonic looked at Shadow. "I get it now." he muttered. Shadow closed his eyes and nodded once to the other before they both turned to me.

"Hey, Addison, does that happen often?" Shadow asked quietly, pointing back toward the city.

I looked back and gasped. "Lights?!" A large truck was roaming around slowly, shining its headlights onto every surface before it. Suddenly, the blinding light came swooping toward us, and I put my hands onto Sonic's and Shadow's heads, shoving them down. I quickly ducked down with them, ignoring the sharp quills pressing into my hands and stomach. The only thing on my mind was that light. _What is that from? Nothing like that is ever even seen in this town. It's a small town, after all - most people get around by walking or riding bikes. I mean, we do have some major interstates going through it, but not in this part! I have to see this...!_ I then stood up, coming out of the cover of the small hill-like riverbank. "Hey!" I called.

Shadow looked up at me, and elbowed my leg so hard, I collapsed. "A-ahh! What was that for?" I snapped.

He shook his head. "Didn't you see?!" he asked, suddenly standing up and yanking Sonic up with him.

"See what?" I followed him as he led Sonic out into the small forest.

"That...thing...said Sega." Shadow replied quietly, yet just loud enough so that I could hear him. He kept running, and by now even Sonic was struggling to get proper footing.

"WHAT?!" _That's not possible! No!_ I looked around. "This can't be!"

"It is. Now be quiet!" Shadow threw Sonic onto the ground and ducked behind a tree. I watched as Sonic groaned and tried to get up, but Shadow pulled him over to him and covered his mouth. The blue hedgehog yelled into his hand, struggling to get free, but Shadow was stronger and held him down, even positioning his own leg so that his foot pressed into Sonic's lower back, causing him to wince and fall silent.

I looked back and saw the light. I realized it was that of a truck. "It's by the creek! Right where we were!" I whispered.

Shadow gasped quietly. "Shh! Listen!"

He leaned to the side slightly and strained to hear what they were saying.

"I see footprints!" one voice said. It belonged to a man.

"That looks like the design given for Sonic." another declared.

 _Sounds like they're all men_. I thought. _Great_...

"And Shadow." the first one added. "Let's hunt 'em down and make money off these hedgehogs!"

I clapped my hand over my mouth and almost screamed. I then decided it best to run...but not if they could see our footprints. Most importantly, Sonic's and Shadow's. I crawled over and yanked Sonic from Shadow, then pinned him down so he was on his back, and grabbed his right leg, yanking his shoe off. I then did it with his left leg as well, and handed the shoes to him before repeating the process with Shadow.

Then, I stood up and picked them up, and Shadow managed to climb onto my back and hang on around my neck while he still held his shoes. Sonic clung to his shoes while I held him to my chest and ran with my bare feet.

The ground beneath my feet was becoming drier as we headed farther from the creek, and I was grateful for that. Once I was sure no more footprints were being made, I headed for an alley deeper into the other side of the city. Once we were in it, I found myself suddenly collapsing, yet still managing to hold Sonic up and safely off the ground. "I'm sorry," I panted, "I'm not used to carrying others."

Sonic shook his head. "No problem!" He then looked down. "Uh...a little help?" he chuckled nervously.

I looked down. Dirt and old trash littered the alleyway, and my guess was, Sonic didn't want that on his socks or in his shoes. So, I nodded and held him up by his underarms, while he put his shoes back on. Once he was back on his own feet, I helped Shadow maneuver over my shoulder and repeat the process.

After setting Shadow down, I looked over at the street. "We lost them." I breathed.

Sonic sighed. "Thank the Master Emerald..."

"What would they have done?" Shadow asked, turning to face me.

I looked at him. "It's a mystery. They'd either test you, or if it was just Sega, they'd do all sorts of horrible things to you that would help them get money. It's sad, really..." I sighed. "But we can't go anywhere right now. I don't want to risk either one of you."

"That's why I'm here!" Sonic declared. "I can zip right back to your house!"

"That's right. And I can use Chaos Control." Shadow added.

I looked at them. "Um...sorry to be a downer...but, remember we don't have the Chaos Emerald? Otherwise we'd be back on Mobius by now...And Sonic, do you even remember what my house looks like?"

Shadow groaned. "Damn it...I forgot. I usually always have one with me. My apologies..."

Sonic chuckled nervously. "Now that you mention it...no, I don't..."

I shook my head. "It's fine, Shadow. Sonic, that's okay. You only got a glance of it." I replied. I opened my mouth to suggest we could just sneak back, but I was cut off by my own gasp as light suddenly flooded the alleyway.

Sonic dashed behind my leg with a scream. "It's Sega!"

Shadow grabbed my leg. "What do you want?!" he demanded, staring at them.

Men only came out, and with no warning, shot us all. Sonic fell immediately, a dart stuck into his back right by his right quill, and I hurried to pick him up, yanking the dark out despite knowing it was hopeless now. Shadow was struggling, but I was nearly unaffected as my own dart, in my arm, was small. I grabbed it and took it out, throwing mine and Sonic's away. "Your stupid darts are made for hedgehogs, not humans!" I spat. I lifted both hedgehogs and threw them over my shoulders before running out, managing to shove my way past the men.

I froze when mu ears were overcome with a loud bang, and my thigh was met by a sharp pain. I looked down to see the side of my pants torn and my thigh was bleeding lightly. Before me, a bullet lay smoking in the ground. I gasped.

"Leave them here, and let us give you a memory-washing medicine. Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to kill them, and you, on the spot." a man said.

I fell to my knees as tears sprung to my eyes. " _No_! Sonic, Shadow..." I stood up and turned around. "What do you _want_ with them?!"

"Since they're here, we may as well just take them and put them in headquarters. Label them as real life Sonic and Shadow. Well have to subdue them, of course, and get them to behave, but that shouldn't be too hard if we can destroy the Chaos Emeralds." one man said.

On my right shoulder, I felt Shadow moving. "You...can't...do that..." he groaned.

The man laughed. "Who's going to stop us? Your friend? She knows almost nothing compared to our knowledge of your world. Meaning, she doesn't know of your world's powers, or how to subdue them."

"Maybe not, but we know more than you do. And who's to say we haven't already told her?" Shadow countered. His voice was starting to fade, and with one glance at him, I could see the dart was really taking effect now.

"If you've already told her, then we'll have to kill her." the man said.

I froze. "F-fine! But you have to let them go!" I said.

"No can do, missy."

Shadow pushed up against my shoulder and twisted himself around to glare at the man. "If you kill her, I'll make all the time you spend with me a living hell." he muttered darkly.

I gasped. "Shadow..."

"Spare her, though, and I'll give you my full cooperation." he finished.

I shook my head. "No, Shadow!" But it was too late.

"Do we have a deal?" Shadow asked. He pushed away from me and landed on the ground. After steadying himself, he walked over to the nodding man.

"Deal." the Segaworker agreed.

Seeing the dart in his back, I reached out and yanked it out of Shadow, but I was too late. Much too late.

Finally, the dart that was in Shadow's back took full effect as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

My vision was blurred with tears, to the point of me only being able to see a black blur with red smudges. " _SHAADOOOWW!_ "

The man leaned down to pick him up, not even bothering to support his small body as he held him up by using his quills. Shadow's face was nearly buried in the man's arm.

"Carry him right! You'll hang him, or smother him!" I screamed. Fury and rage filled my body as I pulled Sonic forward, hugging his limp form protectively, a silent vow to keep him safe.

The man scoffed. "I told him I wouldn't kill you, so we won't. But that means you have to come with us." He threw Shadow at me. "You'll deal with them both, if they mean so much to you."

I quickly moved Sonic and caught Shadow. Pulling Sonic back up, I held both of their defenseless bodies as I was led into the Sega vehicle, sitting in the back.

I couldn't help but cry as we were driven away, but I held the two Mobians to my chest. No, to my heart.

 _It's going to be okay, you two...I promise._


	6. Failed Attempt and Second Try

I opened my eyes to see a bloody black line before me. I immediately sat up. "Shadow?!" I rubbed my eyes and looked down at him. He was unconscious, but his arm was covered in blood. "Shadow! Get up!" I shook him, then picked him up and clutched him to my chest.

As he started moving, he put a hand up and grabbed my arm.

"You're okay!" I cried.

He looked up at me. "What?!" He pushed away from me and landed on the ground in front of me. "Who are you?!"

I gasped. "Shadow...you don't remember me?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why would I?!"

I sighed. "Please just come here. Please. I'm trying to help you."

Reluctantly, he stepped forward. "What?"

I gently took a hold of his bloody right arm and looked for the source. But there wasn't just one. His whole arm was covered in scratches, some deeper than others. I gasped. "You're injured!"

He looked down. "So what? I don't feel it."

I frowned. "Can you feel this?" I asked, poking his arm.

He shook his head. "Not really..."

I yanked him forward and started inspecting his whole body. His chest fur was ruffled. His quills were a bit stiff. _Something tells me he was just in a fight. He must have been stressed._ I stood up. "Shadow...do you know who Sonic is?"

"That damn faker! Where is he?!"

I shook my head. "No! You have to come with me!" My eyes then fell to his arm. "But first...I'm going to help you." I knelt down in front of him and tore a piece of my shirt off. "Open your mouth." I said. As he did so, I quickly ran the cloth along his tongue. He gagged and bit my fingers, but I managed to pull it back out and gently brushed his arm. "I'm sorry." I said. "I just didn't want to do it myself."

He nodded, seemingly understanding my point.

I wrapped the cloth around his arm and tied it. "There. You should be better soon..."

He nodded again, this time looking away.

I sighed. "Come on. We have to find Sonic."

He looked up at me. "What's your name?"

"It's Addison." I said, holding back tears.

He sighed, but nodded.

"The door is open. Let's go." I led him out, and soon heard a familiar voice yelling out, "Stop it! It's not gonna work! Cut it out! That hurts!"

"Sonic?!" Shadow asked.

I looked down at him. "Yes! They must be trying to do to him what they did to you. We have to stop them! Come on!" I grabbed his hand and started running down the dim hallway.

Suddenly, I felt a hard, sharp object hit my stomach. I looked down to see Sonic, splayed out on the floor. He looked up at me and smiled. "Addison!" He stood up, grabbed my free hand, and started running the other way, back to where Shadow and I came from.

"What were they doing?!" I asked.

"They cut my arm open and wanted to put something in me!" he cried. He sounded scared...

I looked at his right arm, and sure enough, there were some bloody scratches. "Oh no..."

"Don't worry! I'll be okay. We just need to get outta here!" he said.

We turned a corner, but stopped.

"FREEZE!" the man before us yelled, aiming his gun at Sonic.

The blue hedgehog thought for a moment. "No thanks!" And he suddenly yanked me back into a different room altogether.

"Here!" Sonic reached into his glove and pulled out a small device. "Tails told me to save this for an emergency. Seeing what's happening right now, I'd say it is. I only have one extra, so you two will have to stick together. But try and find an exit. When you do, press the blue button."

I nodded. "Got it." I then walked out and looked around. Shadow beside me, I hurried out into a different hallway that looked empty. "Shadow, I need you to find out where the doorways are." I whispered. The hedgehog nodded and hurried off. I stayed where I was for now, so he wouldn't get lost.

Hearing a soft voice, I leaned out to find out what it was saying.

"Come on, Addison."

Shadow was ready. I quickly ran out to him and leaned down a little. "What did you find?" I asked.

"The exit is just down the west hallway. But there are guards there. Two of them." he reported.

Nodding, I glanced behind me. "...Let's go." I lightly jogged to the hallway he pointed to, then peered around the corner. "They're waiting for us." I whispered, looking back at him.

He frowned. "How can you tell?"

I gave him a small look, as if to say 'Really?'. "I'm sure the whole facility is on the lookout for us. I just hope Sonic's okay..." I felt myself growing worried at the thought of the blue hedgehog roaming the facility on his own, especially now that they were searching for him.

"He said to call him when we find an exit." Shadow reminded me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nodded and quickly pressed the aforementioned blue button.

Sonic's hushed voice came through. "I see where you guys are! I'm coming real soon. Have any trouble?"

I nodded, despite him not being able to see me. "Two guards at the exit. But we can take them." I replied.

Sonic was silent for a moment, then spoke up. "Sorry. Somebody just walked by me." he whispered, chuckling slightly.

I grinned. _Of course he finds such a thing to be amusing...even in desperate situations, he can always find humor and opportunities._ I thought. "Okay. Just hurry. We don't have much time before they might shut the whole place down."

" _Lockdown in T minus 15 seconds._ " announced a female voice, though clearly automated.

"Oh, man! We really gotta go fast." Sonic said. I soon heard a click, and the call was ended.

I looked at Shadow. He looked stressed. "Hey, come on. We have less than 15 seconds. Let's get these guys." I told him.

We ran out. Shadow easily knocked one of them out, and I did too...eventually.

" _T minus 7 seconds._ "

"Gah!" I looked back, and there appeared Sonic. "There you are, Sonic!"

He winked at me before running forward. "Ran into a little trouble myself." he said. "But it's all good."

Shadow put his hand on the door, then closed his eyes and reared back. His right hand came into hard contact with the door.

" _T minus 2 seconds._ "

There, before us, was the outside world. I gasped and smiled as Sonic ran out, finally free. Shadow wasn't far behind him, and I ducked down before leaving through the small hole in the wall.

I fell to my knees. "We're free!" I cried.

"Not quite, missy."

Gasping, I turned around to see a man in a black uniform, glaring down at me. "This is the simulation room."

I growled. "The what?! Who has one of those?!" I snapped, my temper rising quickly.

"Those of us about to make millions." the man replied with a laugh. He sounded genuinely happy. As if Sonic and Shadow didn't matter; they were just some tools to use to earn money.

I stood up and put my arms out. "Nobody cares about your stupid money! You're, _hurting_ , them." I enunciated. "Do you not care?!"

The man shrugged slightly. "They're animals. Plenty exist."

Overwhelmed with fury, I stepped forward and punched him in the stomach. He only glared at me and went to grab Sonic, who looked absolutely terrified.

"W-wait!" the hedgehog cried.

The man began to bring Sonic back into the main facility, and I could see through his open gloves that his knuckles were white - he had a tight grip on Sonic.

"S-stop it! This hurts!" Sonic protested. "Ow! Help!"

I ran forward and grabbed Sonic around his torso, ripping him away. He turned and clung to me, staring at the man like a frightened child would a stranger.

The man glared at me. "Give me the stupid hedgehog." he ordered.

"No way!" I spat. I ran past him. "Come on, Shadow!"

Shadow began skating out, but was suddenly caught when the man pulled out a rope and threw it around his neck. It wasn't even tied, as he was holding either end of it with his hands, but looking closely, I could see he had the sharp kind of rope with rough pieces sticking out.

Shadow reached up and glared at the man, grabbing at the rope, but it was yanked tighter as he did so. He put his hands down, swallowing hard.

Suddenly, the man wrapped one side around Shadow's neck, then yanked hard.

"It takes more than some dumb string to take me out!" Shadow snapped. He pulled away, but with the combined effort of his pulling, and the man's, he was dragged into unconsciousness.

"No way!" I screamed. Setting Sonic down, I ran at the two. "Damn you!"

For whatever reason, all I could hear was Shadow's song Never Turn Back, as I attacked the man holding said hedgehog captive. "Give him back!"

The man held out a gun and shot at me, but I surprised him by dodging and leaping at his legs. Letting out a victorious yell, I took him down and punched his arms until his grip on Shadow weakened, even if it was just a little.

"Haha! Sonic, hurry and find the exit!" I called.

But I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. They were too big to be Sonic's... Turning around, I saw it was another guard.

"They've got us trapped in!" Sonic replied. I heard some whooshing noises, and automatically knew what he was doing. He was running around, making them think he was using some sort of power. It worked. They kept their distance.

I stood up quickly and delivered a swift kick to the man behind me. It's funny how the simple lift of a leg can lead to a man cringing in pain. I laughed, then turned and went to where Sonic was running, Shadow securely in my arms. Sonic ran around us, creating a protective barrier.

"Wake him up!" Sonic called. "Try and make him remember!"

I nodded and set Shadow down. Kneeling beside him, I gently shook him, my hands on his chest and stomach. I snuck a glance at his neck, and winced. Numerous tiny cuts were there... _That's gonna sting when he wakes up..._ Another look at his arm, and I saw he had bled through the cloth I wrapped around him. Sighing, I shook him a bit harder, and he woke up with a groan. "Hurry! Get up, please!" I said.

He sat up, then immediately seemed to know what was going on. "So, they tried to trap us here?" He stood up and looked around. Past the air of blue surrounding us, dozens of men in uniform stood, ready to shoot. But Shadow didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to be amused. "Stand back, Addison. Sonic, keep running." he ordered.

The men surrounding us looked flustered. They murmured among themselves, as if wondering what to do.

Shadow leapt up, then went out of Sonic's barrier, attacking the men. He thrust his hands out to the sides, and a flash of white lit up the room. When I could see again, Shadow's Inhibitor Rings were on the ground, and Shadow himself was skating around the room with ease, taking out any men within an arm's reach.

I gasped. "Shadow!"

The hedgehog looked at me from his barrier of light, and it was then that I knew he was getting us out of here. Not just another attempt, no, he was going to break through the wall.

These guards were just a warm-up.

I quickly knelt down and picked up Shadow's Inhibitor Rings, holding them tightly in my right hand. _If he loses these, he'll exhaust himself and eventually lose all of his power and energy! I'll hold these until he's ready for them again._ I looked up at Shadow, then around at all the guards. They were falling at Shadow's feet by the dozens.

When everyone around us was dead or unconscious, Sonic stopped running and came to a screeching halt beside me. I looked down at him, and he was smiling up at me.

"Ready to be free, Addison?" he asked, extending his hand to me.

I grinned and took his hand. "Yes."

He led me to follow Shadow, and I stumbled a bit, but he put a hand to my shoulder to help me back up whenever I did.

Shadow's voice rang out from in front of us. "Here goes...!"

Sonic sped up, then yanked me forward. In an instant, I was in his arms. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I looked forward.

Shadow was 20 feet from the wall, a window above his target area.

10 feet...

5...

1.


	7. Asking the Impossible

**All I can say is...REVIEWS!...I love them.**

 **Sonic in Sonic Boom (Rise of Lyric): "Riiings! Nomnomnomnom~"**

 **Me in : "Revieeeewws! Nomnomnomnom!"**

 **...So yeah. Enough of my weirdness. On to the next chapter!**

 **PS I AM A DISCALAIMER:: Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow, and all related characters belong to SEGA...Which is also not mine. So yeah. I dunno why I gave SEGA guards, but I did. XD The only things that are mine, in this WHOLE STORY, are Addison (and everything about her), the plot, and the city. XD not irl. Just here. Jeezus, you think I'm rich?! Walkin' around with $5 in my pocket, makin' it rain...Then wondering why I only have $5. XD**

 **WOW. I really am boring you, aren't I?! If you read all of this, kudos to you. If you didn't, then I know you're eager to see my story, and kudos to you! ONTO THE STORY! *is cuddling Shadz***

 **Shadow: Let me go.**

 **Me: Shhhhh...Just watch. Look.**

 **Shadz: ...You're typing. So what?**

 **Me: SMILE, DAMMIT!**

 **Shadz: *cowers* Creepy human...Maria was never creepy...**

 **Me: SONIC! SHADOW IS BEING RUDE AGAIN! AND I'M BORING OUR READERS!**

 **Sonic: *comes over and knocks us both out* Now, where did she leave off...? *starts typing at a supersonic speed, making for a quicker update with a longer chapter, as an apology for this weird and long intro to chapter 7...***

* * *

I opened my eyes. Sonic was holding me still, walking now. I looked out slightly and saw Shadow in front of us, walking as well. Looking at his gloves, I immediately noticed his Inhibitor Rings were still off. I looked up at Sonic. "Hey..."

He stopped walking, as did Shadow, turning to face us.

"You're awake." Shadow commented.

"Yeah...But I don't remember ever being, well, _not_ awake." I said, confused.

Sonic smiled at me. "You were knocked out by the blast in the wall. It was hard for Shadow to get through, so I had to help him. It wasn't easy...But we got through. Sometime during then, you passed out, probably due to stress, the noise, or maybe even the light. Our Shadow gets pretty bright at times." he chuckled.

Shadow glared at him. "Be quiet, Sonic. This Shadow is about to turn into eternal darkness if I don't find some power source soon."

I looked at him. "You mean like your Inhibitor Rings?"

"Yes." he said, nodding. "Well, somewhat. The Inhibitor Rings allow me to preserve my power. I need a source, since I left them in that...place. I'm not willing to risk going back there."

I smiled at him. "Good, because you don't need to." I took my arms from around Sonic's neck and held out the Rings. "I took them because I know you need them. Without them, you might tire yourself out." I chuckled a bit as I added, "And that's no good."

Sonic smiled. He must have known that reference.

Shadow took the Rings from me and snapped them back on. "...Thank you." he said.

I nodded. "Of course." Wrapping my arms around him once more, I looked up at Sonic and asked, "Where are we headed now?"

He looked to Shadow, a small flash of uncertainty showing in his emerald orbs. "I'm not really sure...Shadow and I just ran past your hometown."

I gasped. "There! That's perfect! We can go back home." I said, nodding. "...Well, home for _me_..."

He nodded. "Sure. Maybe we can locate a Chaos Emerald later. It's been a while since we were there anyways."

I looked over at them. "Do either of you know how long we were actually in that place?"

They both shook their heads.

"No. But I'm guessing it's been at least a day, seeing as the sun is setting again." Shadow commented. Sonic nodded in agreement.

And that's when I noticed; The sun was setting once more. It was _setting_. We were gone for at least a day...

I looked at Sonic. "May I walk?"

"Of course!" He set me down. "You sure you can? That blast was hard, for even Shadow and me."

I nodded, regaining my balance. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you." I replied, smiling at him. "We should get going soon though. I know how we can get back into my house without using the doors. I just didn't want to use it when we left because...Well, it's kind of dangerous."

"It'll be worth it once we're safe again." Shadow told me. "Just show us the way."

"Yeah, just show us the way! We'll help you!" Sonic said, giving me his traditional wink and thumbs-up.

I smiled and nodded. "Then let's get back."

* * *

"Here we are." I said. We all stood in the front lawn of my house, looking up at it. "My window is the one at the top, second to the right." I pointed at it, and they both jumped up to it, Sonic blending in with the atmosphere as the sky turned to a dark blue.

Sonic fiddled with the window and opened it while Shadow kept a lookout. Finally, Sonic had the window open and crawled in. He then reached out. "Come on, Shadow."

Shadow reached up and grabbed Sonic's hands, pulling himself up and into my room. Sonic then leapt down and picked me up, leaping up. I couldn't help but cry out in surprise as he did so, but as soon as we landed back in my room, I sighed and got down.

Sonic went to sit by Shadow, who was laying on my bed, while I closed the window. Keeping the blinds open, I walked over to them in the fading light. "Since you guys can't go back to Mobius, how about I go, and tell everybody what happened? There's plenty of spaces where you both can hide while we stay here. Some behind my pillow, and you can go under my bed..."

Sonic nodded. "Thanks. We'll wake you up if anybody comes up, too."

I nodded as well. "Okay. Shadow?" I turned to look at him, but he was fast asleep, even snoring quietly. I smiled a little and reached over to pick him up.

"Careful!" Sonic whispered. "I dunno how he'd react to that..."

I shook my head. "It's okay. If he's really that tired, he probably wouldn't care, as long as I'm not disturbing him too much." I replied.

Once more, I reached to pick Shadow up. My arms wrapped around his shoulders and legs, and I lifted him up and into my lap. I watched as his eyes opened to little slivers, and he let out a small noise as he shifted towards me. Once more, he buried his face in my stomach, as if hiding from the world.

I chuckled a little and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, Shadow?"

He looked up at me, his eyes just barely open. "Hm?" It seemed like it was all he could do to look up at me, and seeing this, I shook my head.

"Nevermind. You need your rest." I said, rubbing his back. "Go on ahead."

"Mmhmm..." Shadow quickly fell limp in my arms again, snoring some more. He didn't even acknowledge my hand on him as he stretched a little, then curled up.

"I don't think he's ever been as stressed as he was today." Sonic whispered to me. "Not since Maria's death..."

I shook my head. "Probably not. I'm just glad he remembers us now." I chuckled.

He looked at me, tilting his head. "He forgot us?"

I looked down at the sleeping form in my lap. His back to the world, his quills rose and fell slowly, his ears limp, his arms wrapped around my waist as he curled into himself. _Yes, it was him, who so trustingly sleeps in my lap, forgot me just hours ago. And even you, Sonic, whom he's known for years..._ "...Yeah. But he remembered when he woke up, I think. Right before he took his Inhibitor Rings off, that's when." I recalled.

Sonic nodded. "Oh. Okay." He sounded a bit down, so I looked over.

"What's wrong?"

He looked up at me and smiled, a small, sad smile. "Nothing."

I nodded, but didn't really believe him. _Of course, it'd be my worst nightmare to upset him, so I'll leave him be for now_.

I set Shadow down in a corner, where he shifted and buried his face in my pillow, sighing. Laying down beside him, I put a hand by his back, the side of my hand lightly touching him so he knew I was there.

Sonic went and laid himself down right on top of my pillows, above Shadow. The way he had settled, his hand dropped over and dangled in Shadow's face, but the sleeping hedgehog didn't mind it one bit.

Silently, I turned and glanced over at my my desk. Sure enough, there was Shadow's fur. _That one strand...that's what started it all._ I thought, smiling as I curled up and closed my eyes.

 _Goodnight, you two...I'm going to go tell the others about what happened. You two...sleep well._

* * *

I opened my eyes and looked up. "Silver!"

The hedgehog was in front of me, staring down at me as I lay on the ground. "Hey!"

He extended a hand in a silent offering to help me up. I took it and dusted myself off, nodding with thanks.

"So...What happened? And where are Sonic and Shadow? I thought they were with you. But they're not even in Sonic's house."

I sighed. "I know...they're stuck on my planet. It's all my fault!"

He shook his head. "No, it's not. It's those Sega creeps, I'm almost certain. But how'd they get to your planet? And why don't they come back?"

I frowned. "Trust me, they want to. But I think I'm the only one capable of going between the worlds just by sleeping. They got there through Chaos Control, and I'm pretty sure that's the only way they'll be able to come back. The bad thing is...we lost the Emerald." I looked away, half expecting him to be angry.

But the silver hedgehog before me only smiled. "That's good. Then we can get them back if you find it."

I shrugged. "Maybe..." A sigh escaped me as I thought of finding it. "But it won't be easy. We'll have to just keep looking...but now there's more trouble than before."

Silver tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

I cringed a little at the thought of Shadow's arm...a scratched, bloody mess. Then Sonic's...then Shadow's neck...

"Addison?"

"Huh?!...oh, right. Erm...Well, Sega is...kind of...searching for us now. Sonic, Shadow, and me." I muttered.

"What?! Why?!" Silver cried.

I looked away. "It's because they want to use Sonic and Shadow to make money; you know, 'cuz they're so popular on my world. All of you are."

"And why you?" he pressed.

I chuckled nervously. "I know about...their plans. They want to stop me and erase my memory, which is just not gonna happen. Though they did temporarily succeed in brainwashing Shadow...he forgot us for a bit."

"A bit?"

"Yeah...he remembered after he was knocked out, when I woke him up."

"This is terrible!" Silver exclaimed. "If they can brainwash Shadow, who knows what else they can do?! Tails is the only one of us that's really smart about this kinda stuff, and none of us can really get in close to see what they do...they'd recognize us all."

I gasped, an idea suddenly hitting me like a bucket of ice. "I've got it!"

Silver looked up at me, seemingly startled. "What?!"

"I know how we can get into their base!" I said. "Well, maybe not _into_ their base exactly, but how we can see just how high-tech they _really_ are."

"How?"

"It'll be hard though."

"Well...I'm willing to try anything."

I sighed. "You ready for this?"

He nodded, looking now more confused than anything.

"...The only other person with a really high IQ, and knows _all_ about technology."

"..."

"We have to ask for Eggman's help."

* * *

I opened my eyes. "Sonic."

The hedgehog stirred a little and fell onto my head with a gasp. He grabbed a small fistful of my hair and slowly slid down, landing on my shoulder.

I chuckled and grabbed him. Sitting up, I set him down beside Shadow, who was still asleep. Reluctantly, I grabbed Shadow's hands and pulled them out from underneath him. "Shadow."

He growled at me, making a noise very similar to that of an annoyed dog. "Stop..." he muttered.

I chuckled and pulled a bit harder. "Shadow, come on."

The same noise was emitted from him, and I finally decided to roll him over and start tickling him. His reaction was actually kind of cute; he grabbed at my hand and kicked out at me. His eyes opened slightly when I got to a certain point right by his ribs, and he pushed himself away. "No!"

I tried to assume a stern face, despite his adorable behavior. "Shadow, get up." I commanded.

He groaned and sat up, glaring at me as he rubbed his eyes. "What?"

I chuckled a little bit and gently grabbed him, helping him to sit up by Sonic. He just slumped against my pillow and looked away, but I tapped his leg.

When he looked over at me, I smiled. "Hi. So, Silver and I were talking. I have an idea on how we can, once you guys are safe or hidden, gain a better understanding of Sega's technology and security."

Sonic looked at me from watching Shadow's 'episode', and his eyes widened. "What? How?"

So I told them the same thing I told Silver, but added in the details and plan-edits we made. The first words that came out of my mouth, though, were the ones that really caught the attention of both hedgehogs...

"We need Eggman."


	8. Asking Eggman

I watched the two hedgehogs in my bed interact with each other as they got up. It was actually a rather cute scene.

Sonic yawned. "Okay...It's morning...I guess we at least got _some_ sleep...Shadow. Shadow. Shadow. Shadow. Hey, Sha-"

"Faker, be quiet. I'm trying to rest."

"Don't care. It's morning!" Sonic cheered. He shook Shadow and rolled him onto his back. "Get uuuup!"

Shadow growled and crawled over to me, curling up with his back to Sonic as he buried his face in my leg. He sighed, closing his eyes.

I inwardly groaned, not wanting to disturb him, but I knew I had to. Reaching my arms out, I gently pried his arms from the bed's edge and picked him up. He must have still been exhausted, though, because he somehow maneuvered over to my shoulder and clung to me, holding himself up and resting his head in the crook of my neck. I giggled as he did this, but quickly picked him up and held him out.

"Shadow, you do have to get up. You guys need to be on watch for me while I go to Mobius." I told him.

Shadow narrowed his eyes at me. "...Fine." He looked down and stretched his legs out, as if trying to reach the bed with his feet. Seeing this, I set him down.

"Thank you. I shouldn't be too long... I just need a safe way to tell Eggman what's up."

"How do you know this will even work? He might use this as an excuse to take over the world." Shadow told me, flopping down and crossing his legs and arms.

Sonic frowned. "He's right. Eggman isn't exactly the most trustworthy..."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to help, once he knows a Chaos Emerald is involved." I told them.

"If you say so..." Sonic replied with a shrug.

I nodded. "Don't worry. I know some other ways to convince him, just in case the Chaos Emerald doesn't do the trick." I added, starting to lie down.

Shadow leapt off my bed and turned to face me. "Alright. Just go to sleep." he said, starting to pull the covers up over me.

I couldn't help but notice the fact that he did this with a certain gentleness, his fingers lightly grasping the turquoise sheets as he tugged it upward. He then ran a hand along my arm and allowed it to trail off, falling back to rest at his side.

I looked at him, then smiled and turned into my side, closing my eyes. The last thing I saw was Sonic going to stand beside him, and saying something as he put his arm around Shadow's shoulder...

* * *

I looked up. "Huh...?"

I sat up and realized I was in a bed, thick covers over my body.

"...Silver?" I asked quietly. When no response came, I called out a bit louder. "Silver?"

The light gray hedgehog soon came into view. "Addison, hi! Sorry I'm late. I had to help Amy with something." he greeted.

"No worries," I chuckled, "I just got here too."

He smiled a little. "Alright. Now..." He reached over and pulled the covers off of me, then gently picked me up and cradled me to his chest as he walked out.

I did my best not to yawn. _With all this traveling every time I go to the other dimension, will I ever get any real sleep? I'm always awake, whether on Earth or Mobius..._

Silver looked at me. "You okay?"

I nodded a little and offered a small smile. "Yeah, I'm good. Sorry. Just kinda tired." Another yawn escaped from me though, which contradicted my statement and revealed that 'kinda' was an understatement. I closed my eyes and groaned inwardly. _I need to stop being so weak. I can't carry out the plan like this!_ I chastised myself silently.

Silver chuckled, looking at me with a grin. A sweet grin. The kind of grin any kind hedgehog who's lived a harsh life, yet wants justice for all, would give. I smiled back and reached my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, Silver...for everything."

He froze for a second, but then hugged me back, as I was still in his arms. He pulled back and nodded at me. "Anytime." he replied.

A bit later, I had convinced him to set me down, as he seemed to be getting tired himself. After we had been walking along the forest for about an hour, it started to get really dark outside. _Oh yeah, day on Earth is night here. That must explain why I'm always in the daytime._ I thought.

Beside me, I saw Silver walking, but he looked exhausted. I quickly reached a hand out and stopped him. When he looked up at me through half-lidded golden orbs, I could tell right away that he was about ready to collapse. I quickly reached down and picked him up. "Silver...what's wrong?"

He clung to me and buried his face in my shoulder. "Haven't slept...four days..." he muttered. "I can do okay in daytime, the light wakes me up. But every night, it gets worse and worse..." He sighed and pulled his face back. "I'm sorry, Addison. I can go back to Station Square, you go on ahead."

I shoot my head. "No way. I need you, Silver. Sonic and Shadow are already gone. I don't care if you sleep, I just need to know you'll be here, where you belong. Not in one of Eggman's traps, or on my planet...But here. On Mobius. _Your_ home."

Silver stared at me, and was silent for only a second. He then murmured, "Thank you."

* * *

I looked up at the egg-shaped man in front of me. "...I need your help, Eggman..."

He almost immediately broke out into laughter. "I knew it! Sonic and Shadow are locked somewhere and are unable to get free!"

"This isn't funny, Eggman!" I snapped. "If it's any help, they have a Chaos Emerald with them."

He stopped laughing soon. "I know. I'm well aware of that, because it explains why there are only 6 energy fields in the immediate vicinity. 'Immediate vicinity' referring to the nearest 10-mile radius, which is covered on all surfaces by my laser scanners, which pick up all kinds of radiation and energy waves, taking the signals and pinpointing them, which gives my server an exact location, and the information is then installed on a GPS card, and when I connect that to my index GPS..."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't have a high IQ, I'm thirteen. I know my vocab because of English class, but I dunno all your techy stuff." I told him.

"Well, that much I know. Nobody is smart enough to understand my brilliant plans and calculations!" Eggman retorted.

I scoffed. "It doesn't take a mastermind to do that!" I countered.

"Prove it."

"Well, Sonic is smart, but he doesn't have an IQ of 300. And he always beats you." I told him with a smirk.

Eggman raised a fist, wagging his index finger at me. "I'll have you know that-"

"Guys!"

"Huh?!" We both turned to look at the source of the voice.

"Sorry, Silver..." I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my neck.

The hedgehog shook his head, chuckling. "It's fine. But we have to hurry. Eggman, will you help us?"

Eggman scoffed. "Why not you get the smart-aleck to help you? Tails?"

I frowned at him. "I'm trying to keep any of Sonic's friends from knowing. They'd be devastated."

Eggman put a hand to his mustache and stroked it. "Hm...What's in it for me?"

My eyes widened. I'd expected this, but I never really prepared for it...

Just then, saving my sorry butt, Silver spoke up. "You'll get a Chaos Emerald out of it!"

I gasped. _Saving my butt?! What about the Chaos Emerald?!_ I wondered. "Silver, whaddya mean?"

"I mean, it wouldn't hurt to forfeit just one Chaos Emerald." the hedgehog told me.

I shrugged, faking it for now. Something else crossed my mind, but I decided not to say it aloud for fear of Eggman hearing and cancelling on the help.

"You're right, I guess." I replied. I then turned to Eggman. "So? What'll it be? Help for a free Chaos Emerald, or no Sonic and no Chaos Emerald?"

Eggman groaned. "I'll help...but only because a Chaos Emerald is involved."

I laughed. "Let me go back and tell Sonic and Shadow. You do whatever you need to to get to earth."

Eggman nodded and walked off, Silver and I heading out the door. It was then that Silver picked me up, flying back to Station Square.

* * *

I opened my eyes. "Sonic? Shadow?" I sat up and looked around. _Funny...I don't remember falling asleep back in town..._ I shrugged and looked around for the hedgehogs, but just then, my door flew open.

"Addison! What's with all the noise?"

I gasped. "My parents!" I whispered. "N-nothing! Just fell outta bed! Sorry!" I called back. _I can guarantee the noise was one of them going under the bed._ I thought with a chuckle.

"Okay!" my mom called back.

"Coast is clear, guys. When they say 'Okay', they're not gonna come up anymore." I whispered.

Sonic crawled out from behind my pillows. "That's good...but..."

"Shadow?" I asked quietly. I turned to Sonic. "Where's Shadow?"

Sonic looked at me, his expression revealing that he was very nervous.

"Shadow, uh...Left to look for the Chaos Emerald."

"Wha...What did you say?!"

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Sorry it's taking so long to update. Been busy lately with parties and such. I won't update for another couple days or so because now I'm heading up to Wisconsin. It's 5:10 am as I post this. I see there are still some grammatical errors in earlier chapters. I'll fix that, I promise. For now, though, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	9. Sega Strikes Again

**I see that this story makes some people nostalgic! That's good to hear, and you're very welcome. :)** **Oh, and as I type some of this chapter, I'm in Kansas City, in an airport, waiting betwee** **n flights! XD help**

 **okay this chapter is being posted on the drive back to the airport to head back home. Sorry it took me so long! ;-; please enjoy XD this one is just a teeny bit longer than usual**

* * *

I sighed deeply. "Tell me this is some sick joke, Sonic..."

The blue hedgehog shook his head slowly, as if afraid it was the wrong answer. "I'm sorry...he thought you were gonna take longer than you did, so he just...well, left. I tried to stop him, but he's stronger than I am. I'm really sorry, Addison..." he muttered.

I groaned a little, shaking my own head. "It's not your fault. But come on. We need to find him before somebody else does."

He nodded and I wrote a note to my parents, saying I was gonna be out shopping today, before the two of us headed outside to find Shadow.

* * *

I looked around for any sign of a familiar black and red blur. My eyes started closing as I realised that I wasn't going to find him in the city, and I tried not to cry out of despair. So instead, I cried from desperation.

"Shadow!"

Sonic, who stood beside me, ducked behind my leg and wrapped his arms around my thigh. "What if someone hears you?" he asked, looking up at me with horror.

"If anybody heard me, they'll just think I'm playing a game." I told him, waving it off. "No big deal."

He nodded, swallowing a little. "O-okay..."

I smiled at him and gently pried his arms off of me before I continued walking. I began heading to the forest, where I instinctively thought I would find Shadow.

Sonic then hit my leg with the back of his hand. When I looked over, I saw him pointing outward. Calming my nerves, I looked over to where his finger guided me, and I immediately froze. "Sonic...run." I whispered.

I heard a small revving sound, much like that of a motorcycle starting, and felt my hand being grabbed. Before I knew what was happening, I was in the air, then in the grasp of someone's arms, the wind forcing my red curls back in an unruly manner. I couldn't help but laugh as this happened, and quickly wrapped my arms around Sonic's neck. "Where are we going?" I cried, hoping he heard me over the deafening whistle of the wind.

"Trust me, they won't dare follow, even if they do see us!" Sonic replied, forcing a smile out of me.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked quietly. But he must've been able to hear that, as well, because I heard him say, "I must've just been born with it. Just like my speed!"

Suddenly, a blast sounded in front of us, and I looked ahead to see only blurs of green and brown. I had to tighten my grip around his neck to ensure I didn't fall off, and that's when it hit me: _He just did a sonic boom!_ I cheered aloud and nuzzles his cheek, laughing out of pure joy. "We're free!" I shouted. Right now, I didn't care if Shadow, Sega, or anyone heard. All I knew was what was in my head.

 _Sonic the Hedgehog, my favorite gaming star of all time, is carrying me, through a forest, and he's going faster than I've ever gone before!_ I grinned. "Run, Sonic! Go on, and don't stop, _Knight of the Wind_!"

* * *

I hugged Sonic yet again. "Thank you so much!" I cried.

He chuckled, hugging me back. "It was no problem. So, you good here?"

I nodded as we both pulled back. "You were right. They wouldn't follow us here."

"They wouldn't even think we'd go here." he added, winking.

I wrinkles my nose slightly. "Yeah, or maybe they just didn't wanna come here." I chuckled, covering my nose.

Sonic turned out. "Yeah, well, a landfill isn't the ideal place to hide, is it?" He laughed and looked back at me, a smirk on his face.

I shrugged. "It's not all that bad. It's not anything like an airport bathroom." I replied, suppressing a shudder.

"Well, you would know. I can go on my feet, faster than any plane." Sonic bragged, picking me up once more. "Now that we've lost 'em, we can head back and start lookin' for Shadow again." he said. With those words, he sped off, most likely heading back towards the main city.

* * *

I opened my eyes a little. _Wait, since when was I asleep?_ I sat up and stretched my arms and legs, forgetting all about the planetary travel I went through each time I sacrificed my consciousness. Instead, I looked around for Sonic.

"Where'd he go?" I wondered aloud. I pulled the covers off of my legs, raising a brow at the fact that they were even there. I stood up and looked at the door. I could hear footsteps coming. "Sonic?"

The door opened to reveal Silver, who looked surprised to see me. And that's when I remembered- _Oh, yeah...I go to Mobius when I sleep on Earth. Huh. Why would I forget? Also, when did I-_

"Hey, Addison! When did you wake up?" Silver asked, walking over to me.

I shrugged, still unsure. "I don't remember when I fell asleep." I admitted with a sigh.

"Ah, that's okay. We'll take care of you here, and I'm sure Sonic and Shadow have everything under control on your planet."

"Well..." I trailed off, my hands suddenly repeating a nervous habit of mine- one arm pressed itself to my side, while the other bent and allowed my hand to cover my mouth with a half-clenched fist.

"Huh?" Silver tilted his head at me. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" His voice had suddenly assumed a worried tone, which only proved to make me feel bad.

"Well, I dunno exactly. While I was here with you and Eggman, Sonic told me that Shadow had left in search of the Chaos Emerald. Sonic had to stay behind to wake me in case my parents came, but the last thing I remember is leaving with him to find Shadow. And of course, we found another Sega truck, patrolling the place like my city is its backyard or something." I rolled my eyes at the thought.

Silver tilted his head. "Really?" When I nodded, he began to look worried. "That's not too good. Didn't you already have some trouble with them before?" I nodded again. "So they're probably gonna be on your case for a while." he sighed.

"Sadly, yes." I agreed. "And the reason Sonic and Shadow are stuck is because they came to Mobius, don't forget. So they'll know how to find them, even when here."

"In other words, even our home isn't safe anymore." he confirmed, his tone sad.

I winced at his sudden depressed demeanor, and stepped forward. "It's okay. Can you think of even one time when even one of them _couldn't_ get out of some dangerous situation or another?"

He sighed and shook his head, looking down. "No..."

I smiled. "Exactly. They'll be okay. Especially since Eggman has a big IQ, and lots of weapons and machinery that my planet doesn't. Not to mention that this time, they're getting _help_ from Eggman. This should be easier than normal." I told him, wrapping my arms around him in a gentle hug. "They'll do perfectly fine. I promise."

Silver hugged me back, burying his face in my stomach. "Okay..."

I bit my bottom lip and held back a squeal of excitement. Nodding, I released him and pulled back, looking down at him as I said, "I'll go back and find Shadow. You go see if Eggman is ready."

He nodded, seeming determined now. I smiled at this and laid down on the bed again, Silver pulling the covers up and over me. I turned on my side and closed my eyes.

Just before I was swept under, I heard Silver whisper, "Sleep well, Addison, and good luck."

* * *

Sonic's face, crowned with a worried expression, was what greeted me upon re-awakening on Mobius.

I sat up immediately. "Huh? S-Sonic, what's wrong?"

He sighed. "Nothing...anymore. Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah... Why?"

"You passed out after they shot these into you..." He stepped back and pulled up three darts, all of which looked familiar...

"Sega?!" I gasped.

A slow nod from the blue hedgehog was my answer, and I hated every bit of it. "A-are _you_ okay?!"

He nodded again, but quickly put a hand up behind his back.

I stood up, realizing I was back in my room, on my bed. Ignoring that, though, I focused on Sonic, grabbing him by the shoulders and spinning him around. I grabbed his wrists and pulled his arms away from his body, gasping at what I immediately saw. "Sonic!"

"What...? It's not that bad." he muttered, trying to pull away.

I shook my head, despite knowing he couldn't see me, and pulled his arms up, guiding him over to my bed. He began struggling when I set him down on his belly, and tried to flip himself over.

"G-get me down-let me down, c'mon-This isn't cool, Addison!" He began kicking and panicking as more and more of his attempts to be free were thrown out the window.

I knew what he was trying to do - earn my sympathy and get me to let him up, so I didn't see what was on his back. But it was too late. A rather thick cut was covered in blood, most of it still fresh, and right above his tail.

I gasped. "Sonic!"

He froze just then, and I saw his ears go lower, lower, until they were flattened to his head. "Y-yeah?"

I ran my finger just above the cut, and he jerked his head and legs up. "Ahh! D-don't-!"

I yanked my hand back, startled. "I'm sorry!"

He quickly got on his hands and knees, meneuvering away from me and plopping into the corner by the larger pillow. He curled up into a ball, then, and squeezed his eyes shut. "You didn't need to see it."

I frowned at him. "I did. There's plenty of stuff here that can help you. Just get up and come over here."

He opened his emerald eyes and stared up at me. "...No."

I sighed. "Sonic, if I don't treat it soon, something like that could get infected."

"Only if it was with metal! That wasn't metal! I'll be fine!"

I shook my head. "Even a paper cut can get infected if you're really into picking at it. What did that, anyways?"

He hid his face. "Nothing."

"Liar."

"...Okay, well, it wasn't exactly metal...maybe..."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him out, ignoring his protests. "Yes?"

He looked away, to the best of his limited ability, and muttered something inaudible to my weak human ears.

"What?" I leaned closer. "Did you say 'Nope', as in you won't tell me?"

He shook his head vigorously. "No!" He looked up at me. "Rope!"

I gasped. "Rope?"

When he nodded, I gasped. My mind suddenly recreated an image I had wished to never see again. It was of Shadow, trapped by the Segaworker, a rope tight around his neck. Then I remembered how cut up he was afterwards. I winced. Even with all the pressure he had applied to Shadow, his cuts weren't as bad as Sonic's.

"How did it happen?" I asked, clearing my mind of the horrifying images.

"You were shot with the darts, and...I kept running, until they stopped me. They had some sort of cutting rope, and threw it at me...When they tightened it, it dug into my back..." I saw him visibly shaking, and trying to hide his face in the pillows.

I reached over and grabbed his hands. "Come here...You okay?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm okay..." Sonic muttered. After he spoke, though, I heard a small noise come from the back of his throat, almost like he was holding back a cough.

"What's wrong?" I asked suddenly, pulling him out and letting him sit up.

He curled into himself and coughed, yanking one arm away and covering his stomach with it. For a bit, he didn't stop, and I took note of him struggling to breathe.

"Sonic?! Sonic! Breathe!" I demanded, pulling his arms back.

He shook his head quickly and covered his mouth, groaning. "I think I'm about to..." He groaned once more, and I quickly got the hint. I ran out to the bathroom and grabbed the trash can, grateful that it was empty, and held it in front of him.

He grabbed the edges of the can and retched, then coughed some more and pulled up, looking rather miserable. "Oww..."

I rubbed his back and set the can down by the bed, then pressed my hand to his forehead. "Are you sick?"

He made a small face. "No way."

"Then what else - huh?" I looked over, and touched his shoulder. "Turn over a sec."

He let out a noise that sounded like a mix between a groan and a whimper, but did so anyway.

I touched the cut on his back, then stared at the blood on my finger. "Hmm...Sonic, I have some bad news..."

He looked up at me, looking terrified. "Wh-what? What is it?"

"Sonic, I think that rope was laced with...poison."

"WHAT?!" He then collapsed, sweating yet cold.


	10. Finding Shadow and Preparing to Return

I immediately picked Sonic up and rushed him to my bed, where I gently set him down and covered him up. "Just rest for a bit, okay?"

He groaned and turned away, burying his face in the pillow. "Noo..."

I nodded and stood up straight, grabbing my flashlight. "Yes, Sonic. Wait here and I'll go find Shadow."

"No way!" Sonic sat up. "You're not going out there alone!"

I stared at him for a second. "...Yes I am. Now you wait here."

He tried to sit up. "No way! I'm coming with!"

I pushed him back down, gently as I could anyways. "You're staying here!"

He then shoved my arms out of the way and leapt out of the bed, but had to cling to my legs to keep himself from falling over. "No. I'll help you."

"Soni-"

"Addison! It goes against everything I stand for to just 'sit here and rest' or 'wait'. I'm coming with!"

"Sonic, if you go unconscious on me, I may not be able to carry you without hurting you."

"Good thing I never go unconscious." he retorted, running for the window. I quickly grabbed his arms though, and pushed him back.

"Nope. You need to stay here. It's for your own good - in every way."

"Addison - I'm - going!" He reared an arm back and hit my arm away, bone against bone. I stepped back and clutched my arm in pain, staring at him. He slowly stepped closer, and I allowed my gaze to harden into a glare. He reached one hand out. "Addison, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you-"

"No, Sonic!" I snapped. I ignored the sudden look of shock and slight fear in his eyes. "Go out! Go get yourself hurt. Go get lost, injured, and taken away, either by Sega or some deranged fan that wants only to do cruel and unthinkable things to you, Sonic, and I hope it goes just _swell_ for you!" I pointed out the window. "There are sick people out there, Sonic, and I swear if they ever saw that you were real and here, they would do stuff you'd never imagine. I'm only one of the few that want to protect you and help you, but if you don't wanna listen to me, that's fine. So come on." I then grabbed him and began my descent out the window, furious.

Sonic struggled in my arm. "Wait! Addison, I'm sorry! I'll stay in there! Whaddya mean by bad stuff? Hey! Addison? Addison..."

I only continued to climb down, ignoring him all the way. It was partially because I was angry at him currently, but also because I needed to focus all of my attention on getting down safely. Angry or not, I didn't want him hurt anymore than he was. When we finally reached the ground, though... That's when I went off on him. I held him up and put him on the ground, glaring at him. "Great. Let's go!" I spat, starting to walk.

Sonic quickly dashed forward. "Uhh, wait. Please. Whaddya mean by 'bad stuff'?"

I turned to face him, eyes narrowLed. "They'll take your freedom away."

"...How?" he pressed.

I tried to think of the right words for his innocent mind. "..." Then I had it.

"Someone will try to touch you in a way, and a place, that makes you feel uncomfortable." I explained to him.

"I... Oh." He looked down. "Well, I appreciate your concern, Addison." He looked up at me then, and I stared back at him. "I'm really sorry I hurt you... Just please don't be mad at me. I only wanna help Shadow."

"He is in no condition himself to be going anywhere." I told him. "Looking after the both of you is gonna be hard."

"You won't need to soon, I promise. I think I may know where he is."

I sighed and nodded. "Okay. Point the way." I replied, picking him up and carrying him on my back.

Not too long into our walk, we spotted some familiar shoe prints in the mud. _Wait, mud?_ Confused, I looked up. It was starting to rain. I let out a sigh. "You don't mind getting wet, do you, Sonic?"

The hedgehog shook his head. "As long as I don't have to swim."

"This looks like a storm. Let's hurry to find him. I don't want any trouble tonight."

Sonic nodded, and we continued on through the rain, which gradually became a heavy downpour.

About half an hour later, we found ourselves by a food court. It was closed, but there were some accessible places. I found a hot dog cart and made some chilidogs for Sonic, as well as for myself. As we ate under the safety of table umbrellas, we discussed our plan to find Shadow.

"My parents are sort of free-going, but not as much as we may need. They do still check every now and then, and all the noise earlier is sure to make them curious. If we hurry, we can be back in time with the two of you hidden, and have enough time to get you guys cleaned up and dry. Eggman is gonna be coming as soon as we're ready, but he too is waiting on us. So let's hurry."

Sonic nodded as he gulped down his fourth chilidog. "Gotcha." He coughed a little, but quickly got over it and stood up straight. "Okay. Let's go!"

I nodded and picked him up, letting him climb onto my back, then hurried out.

Sonic then pointed out, towards the trail we were at before. "There! If he's anywhere, he'll be there."

I paused for only a moment, then nodded and walked over.

"Shadow?" Sonic called.

"Shadow!" I chimed in.

After a while of calling his name, we both heard gunshots. We fell silent, and I ducked behind a thick oak tree. "Who could that be? Shadow?" I asked quietly.

"I have no idea." Sonic muttered. He then gasped quietly. "Shh! Footsteps! Coming this way!"

I froze, feeling a gun touch my head from the other side of the tree. I was terrified when I couldn't see the owner.

"Who are you and why are you here?!" demanded a familiar voice.

I gasped and grabbed the gun, yanking it toward me and past my side. I then reached my arms out and tackled the one who was threatening me just seconds ago. "Shadow!"

He struggled to get me off. "Uhh! ... Huh?! Addison?"

I stood up and picked him up, hugging him tightly. "You're okay!"

He nodded and tried to push away gently. Getting the idea, I let him go.

"No time to explain. You have to go, now." Shadow ordered, picking up his dropped gun.

"Huh? Come with us, Shadow!" Sonic said.

"No...I can't. There's someone out here. I don't have the strength to protect you both. Go back home for now. I'll catch up." Shadow told us.

"No way! We'll help!" I insisted, stepping forward.

"Addison's right. Come on." Sonic chimed in.

"Sonic, Addis-"

"There's no time to argue! There he is!" I gasped, pointing behind Shadow. He whipped around and fired a shot, just grazing the figure.

"I swear, if either one of you gets hurt...!" Shadow skated out toward the figure and engaged in combat. I watched for a bit. This didn't look like a Segaworker, but it wasn't any average citizen, either. This was a burly man in torn clothes.

 _But why is he fighting Shadow?_ I wondered. But there was no time for that; only time to help. I set Sonic down behind the tree, then ran out. "Hey, you! What do you want with him?!" I demanded, throwing myself onto him.

Shadow gasped. "Get off of him! He has weapons!"

"I want to be famous! This is the most realistic Shadow imitation I've ever seen! So he's mine!" the man barked.

"Too bad that'll never happen, sicko!" I yelled, an idea forming in my head.

Lightning flashed, giving me a glimpse of Shadow's worried face, as well as Sonic's, before attacking the man.

"Addison! Get down! He's gonna hurt you!" Sonic cried.

I ignored the hedgehog as I proceeded to wrap my arms around the man's neck. "Sure glad I took karate!" I grunted as I performed a blood choke on him; I cut off the blood circulation to his brain. He was down in a matter of six seconds, and I quickly leapt off of him. "Let's hurry outta here!" I grabbed Shadow's arm, ran to Sonic and grabbed his, then ran back home as quickly as we all could.

In 45 minutes, we were home, and Sonic and Shadow had collapsed on my bed. The storm was mostly over for now, and as far as I knew, they were out cold. I chose now to clean them up, though, and gently shook them both awake.

"Ngh...Let me sleep..." Sonic murmured, but finally got up after realizing I wasn't going to stop shaking him.

Shadow got up almost immediately, but was rather grumpy.

"Come on." I led them both to my bathroom, where I closed and locked the door before starting the water. I used the plug to make sure no water was wasted, then waved them over. "I need your shoes, socks, and gloves."

"If you take off my gloves, it'll be the last action you perform with fully functioning hands." Shadow threatened with a glare.

I chuckled. "Okay, okay. Shoes, at least."

They both took off their shoes, and Sonic gave up his socks and gloves. Once the tub was full, Shadow climbed in.

"Is the water okay?" I asked him. He only nodded and sank down so that only his eyes and up were above the water. He looked rather annoyed...and tired.

I figured I should help this along, so that they'd both be clean, dry, and asleep within fifteen minutes.

I eased Sonic into the tub, though it was no easy task. He clung to the edge of the tub once he was in, and stared down at the plug constantly. I sighed and grabbed two sponges, lathering them up with soap. "Okay, you guys wanna do it, or me?" I offered.

Shadow snatched a sponge and began cleaning himself, though rather roughly. I sighed and didn't say anything, as he probably knew what was best for his body better than I could guess.

Sonic looked up at me. "C-can you do it? If I let go of this, I'll drown...!" he muttered. I chuckled and saw Shadow roll his eyes.

"Sure, Sonic. Hang on. Don't splash around, okay?" He nodded shakily as I began cleaning him off, starting off with his head and quills. I made sure to be gentle with them, as I know they were probably sensitive. Working my way down, I went to his arms, torso, and his legs. Then his feet, and eventually his hands. He had insisted on just scrubbing them in the water, so I held him up so he didn't fall. They both rinsed then, and even got a little time to just relax. Shadow was practically laying in the tub, while Sonic hung over the edge, but still seemed to be okay...mostly.

Finally the two were both clean, so after easing Sonic out and helping Shadow out, I grabbed a towel and let them both dry themselves. While they did that, I cleaned off their gloves, socks, and shoes.

"Great. Can you wait for these to dry?" I asked them. "Putting them through the washer and dryer is risky."

Reluctantly, they agreed to wait, so in that time, I showed them some of my favorite fan arts on the web that I had printed out. They were actually pretty interested in seeing it, and each had a favorite or two. Shadow seemed especially fond of the ones of him with a gun, and/or Maria. Sonic liked anything that showed off his speed or some cool breakdancing.

After a long time of napping and coping with boredom, I went to go get their stuff. Just as I had thought, they were all dry. I brought them into my room, where they both gladly put it all on.

"Great. Now, I'll go tell Silver that you guys are ready." I announced.

Sonic shook his head. "No...Please. I'm exhausted. Can we just sleep a bit more?"

I looked at him, and smiled. "Sure. Get all the sleep you need." I replied.

Shadow made a point of laying down beneath the covers, his small body curled up as he quickly fell asleep. Sonic took over a pillow, burying his face in it.

I watched over them for a while, until I had to do something to keep myself awake. I went and grabbed my 3DS, playing some games, but silently. "Sleep well, you two." __


	11. Search and Return

_**Hey peeps! Just wanna say that, if there's anyone else you wanna see in this story, go** **ahead** **and request them. I'm so my best to do so. Also, feel free to PM me or post reviews with a description of your OC's if you want them used! I'll need name, age, gender, personality,**_ _ **appearance, abilities, and anything else you think it'll need. Thanks! Enjoy chapter 11!**_

* * *

I sighed quietly as I closed my 3DS. Playing games was fun and all, but only for so long. Both Sonic and Shadow had been asleep for quite a while now, and I was beginning to think that maybe we should wait another day before starting the search for the Chaos Emerald.

 _I don't understand... How is it that they seem so calm about all this? I mean, sure, Earth is similar to Mobius, but this has to be more stressful than they're letting on._

I looked at Shadow and reached over, lightly grabbing his arm. "Shadow...Shadow. Wake up." I whispered, shaking him lightly.

He opened his eyes and looked up at me, then shifted onto his stomach, stretching his legs out. "Is it morning already?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Dr. Eggman is gonna come here today and help us look for the Chaos Emerald faster. You ready?"

Shadow sat up and nodded, then stretched and leaned against the big pillow I had. I looked over at it and gasped quietly.

"Did you...do something to that?" I asked him, leaning closer to look at it. The pillow front had been designed and put together in a loose pattern, but there were tears and holes in one little corner. Of course, the damage wasn't so little...

"Hm?" Shadow turned and looked at it, then froze. "That probably was me, yes...Forgive me."

I shook my head and offered him a smile. "It's fine. Were you stressed?"

"No, that was most likely in my sleep."

"Did you have a nightmare?" I pressed.

He looked down, at his shoe. "Yes." He then looked up at me. "But it's fine. I'm alright."

I nodded. "Okay. Just let me know if you need anything." I then turned to Sonic, who was still asleep, and shook him from the arm as well. "Sonic, get up. It's morning."

The blue hedgehog opened his green eyes to slits, then blinked and fully opened them. "Huh? Is it really?" he asked, stifling a yawn. He stretched as well, then fell back and onto the pillow. Unfortunately, he took a crabby Shadow down with him, and the two soon became a spiky, colorful pile. Giggling, I pulled Sonic up.

"You okay?" I asked, still laughing a little.

He nodded and looked over at Shadow, who was glaring at him. "Sorry, Shadz!" he said, using the nickname I'd given the black and red hedgehog before.

Shadow merely rolled his eyes and looked to me. "When will we begin our search?"

"Give me ten minutes to tell Silver and Eggman we're ready, and Eggman'll be here soon." I replied.

"How do we know we can trust the doctor not to steal the emeralds; either the one he uses or the one we find?" Shadow asked, frowning.

"I doubt he'd be willing to go up against the three most powerful hedgehogs he knows." I explained. "And if he does, it's guaranteed you'll get it back." I added, chuckling.

Shadow shrugged a little. "I suppose you're right." he agreed.

"Great. You guys wait here; I'll only be gone for a bit. If anything happens, wake me up. And...No leaving!" I added, casting a glance at Shadow. I then laid down on my bed and relaxed, sighing as I closed my eyes.

* * *

"You're back!" I heard Silver's greeting and opened my eyes.

I sat up quickly and stood up, out of the bed. "We're ready on my end. Everything going well with Eggman?"

The pale hedgehog nodded and gestured toward the door. "He's ready outside. He's got two Chaos Emeralds with him, just in case. We've also got Knuckles coming, to help."

"What?!" I bent down to whisper in his ear. "What happened to not telling anybody else?!" I asked quietly.

"Tails, Amy, and really all the others figured he went on a trip. But Knuckles got suspicious of Eggman, so he went to confront him. Eggman explained everything to him." Silver told me. "But I made sure they both know not to tell anyone else about anything."

I stood up straight and performed a facepalm of epic proportions. "That little...Ugh. Let's just get going before I hurt something." I muttered.

Silver nodded and quickly led me out. "Eggman, Knuckles, you guys ready?" he asked.

The two had also been talking, and turned to face us, both nodding.

"Knuckles?" When he looked up at me, I asked him, "Who will guard the Master Emerald while you're gone?"

"I will." Silver answered for him. "I'll stay here and guard it for him, and I'll have a communicator from Eggman in case there's any trouble."

I nodded. "Got it. And Eggman, I swear, if you try _anything_ , I will personally crack you in half, just like an egg."

The doctor laughed and waved it off. "I won't."

"Okay, let's get going. I don't want to waste any more time than necessary." Knuckles said.

I nodded. "Try to think of going to Star Creek when using Chaos Control. We'll meet you there soon." I told them.

I quickly went back into the room in which my alternate-dimensional body had been resting, and threw myself onto the bed, not really even bothering to get to comfortable before closing my eyes.

* * *

I opened my eyes and looked up at Sonic and Shadow, silent for a bit.

"I mean, how is it that Sega can come into our world without any Chaos Emeralds? And how can Eggman use Chaos Control without our abilities?" Sonic was asking.

I decided to give them both a little scare as I chimed in. "Good questions! But we'll have to figure that out later. They're here!" I said, jumping up and grabbing a jacket. I slipped on a pair of sandals before opening my door. "Let's go. Shh, my parents are still asleep."

Sonic looked up at me. "How do you know? And who's 'they'? I thought just Eggman was coming...?"

"If they haven't turned on the TV, it's Sunday. On Sunday, they both sleep in." I replied. "And Knuckles figured out so he came too. Now go!"

As they both headed out and followed me into the hallway, I went downstairs and grabbed a sticky note and pen, scribbling, _ouT WiTH FRieNDS, Be BaCK aT 4 oR So-_

I unlocked the front door, opened it, and we headed out. "...Great. It's morning. People are out. How can we get there without being noticed?"

"Hey, do you have a map of the place?" Sonic asked me quickly.

"Uh...Yeah, but it's on my phone." I said, starting to understand what he was doing. I went inside and grabbed it, turning around to see they had followed me. "Here." I pulled up the Maps app, then found our location. I typed up the name of the creek, then showed it to Sonic. "That blue line is the path it suggests we take. The pulsating blue dot is where we are."

"Great! Let's go." Sonic said, his grip on my phone tightening.

"Huh?!" I was startled as he picked me up.

"Hang on, Addison! Shadow, you ready?" he asked.

The black hedgehog nodded, and suddenly I was yanked back by gravity, or something like that, as Sonic started running to the creek. I yelped and hid my face. Once again, we were there within seconds. Sonic gently set me down, and I led them into the forest, where almost immediately we saw Eggman with Knuckles. They each held a Chaos Emerald, Eggman's yellow and Knuckles' red.

"Let's not waste any time." Shadow said. "It's daytime. Find the Emerald, and don't get spotted by anyone who lives here."

We all nodded. "I'll go search the city, around alleyways and buildings." I said.

"Shadow and I will take this forest." Sonic declared.

"I'll look around the neighborhood." Knuckles chimed in.

"I'll look to the street from above." Eggman said. "And here. Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles. Use this." He shot them all with a ray, and they suddenly vanished from sight. He did it to himself, too, and he along with his hovercraft disappeared. "It will wear off in 30 minutes." he informed us.

"Great! Thanks, Eggman!" Sonic's voice sounded.

"Just to be safe, let's all meet back up in 20." I said.

"Alright." they all agreed.

"It's 10:35." Eggman declared after using his machine to see.

"So everyone start heading back at '50." I said. "There should be clocks every quarter mile or so in the city." I then took a deep breath. "Go!"

* * *

I tried not to make myself obvious as I peered into alleys and looked around buildings. My hands were clenched into fists, my shoulders burning from the sun's heat. It was still summer, and I had about four weeks until school started. _And that may seem like a lot, but time passes by when you're having fun._ I thought with a sigh. I kept looking, until one of my biggest fears came true.

"Miss?"

I whipped around to face the voice, somehow knowing it was addressing me. "Y-yes?"

"You've been walking very slowly around here and looking around a lot. Are you hiding something?" the police officer before me asked.

I quickly shook my head. "No, sir. You can even search me if you want; I just think I dropped my necklace around here yesterday. I didn't wanna look last night because people are asleep, y'know, but I figured I'd look today."

He suddenly gave me a little smile, his blue eyes softening almost immediately. "Alright then, miss. You need any help with that?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine, but thank you." I said politely, nodding once.

"Alright. You have a nice day, and good luck." he said, turning to head off.

"Thanks, and you too!" I replied. I turned back around and sighed quietly. _That was way too close._ I thought to myself.

I kept walking around, until I thought I felt a small tingling sensation on my right hand. I stopped and looked down, staring at my hand, confused. "What is that?" I turned to my right and looked out, across the street, seeing if anything had happened. And that's when I saw it.

"The Chaos Emerald!" I breathed. I quickly looked to the left, then the right, then decided to take a chance and ran across the street. I did my best to hurry as a car was approaching from the far side. At the last stride, I felt something hit my right leg, and let out a yell as I felt myself spinning. The ground was coming toward me, seemingly at mach speed.

Two lines of pressure, one across my shoulders, the other on the back of my legs. I was lifted up. I winced and gasped, as my right leg was in extreme pain. I dared to open my eyes to see who had me in their arms. And then I gasped again, reaching my arms up and embracing the one who held me. "Knuckles!"

He nodded once. "Are you okay?! What happened to you?!"

I opened my mouth to talk, but then found myself pointing into the nearest alley. "Go in there!"

He carried me in there, setting me down behind a large dumpster. "What happened?" he asked again, gently laying my leg out.

"I saw the Chaos Emerald!" I panted. "I tried to get it..." I glanced down at my leg. "But I got hit by a car. I guess I fell. How'd you see what happened?"

"I sensed the Emerald from above. But it's good I saw it happen, otherwise you would have hit the ground." he told me with a light chuckle. After I laughed a little and nodded my agreement, he continued. "We have to hurry in getting it. You can see me now, which means other people can see me. It's been half an hour."

"Oh, shoot! You're right! Let's go, then!" I breathed.

He nodded and stood up, helping me. He then stood by the wall and began climbing up it using his knuckles. "Grab on." he ordered.

I quickly nodded and stood up shakily, wrapping my arms around his waist.

He began climbing the wall as I dangled below. His tail pressed up against my side as he did so, until we finally reached the top. He maneuvered himself over the edge, leaving me to hang on, then turned around and quickly helped me up. "There. You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks. My leg hurts though..." I frowned. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "You're fine. Now, go stand by the edge there." he said, gesturing out. "And be ready to grab on."

"Uhh... Okay." I walked to the edge and held my hands up. "Like this?"

"Yes." He was a bit behind me, I could tell. Then I heard footsteps. "Now!"

I clenched my hands into fists and felt myself being lifted up. I looked up and saw Knuckles, then looked down and saw the street. Another glance up told me I was holding his legs. I bit my lip and inhaled sharply, not exactly one to trust myself up high.

"We'll be there in no time." he assured me. "Just hang on until then." Seconds later, we were in another alleyway. "Prepare to land." he said.

I nodded and held out my left leg. Once I touched the ground, I let go and regained my balance, while Knuckles got on the wall and climbed down. I turned around and looked at the Chaos Emerald, then bent over to pick it up. "Got it!" I declared, turning to face him.

He nodded his approval. "Good job. You head back to the forest through the sidewalk. I'll go overhead. If you need any help, just think it to the Emerald. It can probably give you some more strength in your leg, just for now." he told me.

I nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

He nodded as well, then headed off.

I nodded and held the Emerald to my chest. "Please, help me. Let my leg not feel pain, at least until I can reach Sonic and the others." I then felt my leg lose its feeling... Taking advantage of this, I quickly ran out and headed to the forest as soon as I could.

* * *

"Addison got the Emerald!" Knuckles announced.

"Good job!" Sonic congratulated.

"Is that why you took so long?" Eggman asked, gesturing to my leg.

I looked down at it. "Huh? Oh... Yeah." It was obvious my leg was hurting; I wasn't even resting it on the ground. I was holding it just an inch or two up. I sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Sonic assured me, shaking his head. "Let's just go."

I nodded and took a step back.

Sonic gave me a funny look. "Aren't you coming?"

I looked up at him. "Y-you want me to?"

"Of course!" Sonic waved me over, so I limped the step or two closer.

Sonic sighed and touched Knuckles, then Eggman's transport. "Addison, go ahead and put it in front of me. Just place it in the air."

"Okay..." I did so, and upon letting go, realized it was floating. And glowing! It was getting brighter, too!

Sonic took a deep breath as we all connected to each other. "Chaos... Control!"


	12. A Time of Repose

I gasped. "We're back! Er - you're back! You guys are home!" I beamed down at Sonic, then knelt down to hug him. He hugged me back, laughing with joy. I sighed as I pulled away from him. "Thank goodness."

"Hey! Come back here! You made a promise!" Knuckles' voice interrupted us. I heard footprints, then turned to see the echidna running after a familiar floating...for a lack of better words, ball.

Without thinking, I immediately followed. "Eggman! Come back here!" I shouted. I was stunned to watch a metal hand come out of the fat man's transport, and snatch Knuckles' emerald.

Eggman turned to look back at us from his transport. "No way! Promises are made to be broken!" He then laughed and turned back around, blasting ahead. He was now going faster than before...

I stopped running. "No way..." I stood there, panting, before hurrying back to Sonic. "He's got two of the Chaos Emeralds!" I cried.

Sonic frowned. "I'm not too surprised, but really... You'd think he'll understand by now that he's never gonna get all seven at once. Not again."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Sonic."

He shook his head. "It's fine. I still have the one you found; that's better than none."

I nodded. "I suppose so."

Sonic looked over at Shadow. "So, whaddya say, Shadow?"

The black hedgehog looked back at his blue counterpart and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Ready to go beat Eggman's butt again?" Sonic offered, winking.

Shadow closed his eyes and bowed his head, chuckling as he crossed his arms. He then opened his eyes and grinned up at Sonic. "I don't see why not."

I smiled as I watched this exchange. But then a thought hit me. "Should I go home now?"

Sonic looked over at me. "You can if you want... But how can we get you to just fall asleep?" he asked. "Y'know...without traveling between our worlds?"

I sighed and looked down. "I don't know. But I don't wanna be stuck on Earth. I want to be able to see you again...all of you."

Sonic laughed. "What, you thought we were just gonna leave you hangin'? Hah!" He shook his head. "No way. We'll figure out a way for you to choose whether or not you go between worlds. That way, you can rest and travel." he explained.

I nodded. "I guess so. But first things first...We have to get the Chaos Emeralds back from Eggman!"

Sonic nodded. "Well...I agree!" He suddenly snatched me up and began running after his long-time foe.

Shadow followed right behind us, using his shoes to match Sonic's speed.

I clung to Sonic as tightly as I could without hurting him. I looked out and saw we were getting closer and closer to Eggman...

Until suddenly, Sonic stopped. "Turn around, turn around!" he shouted. Shadow and Knuckles both stopped their pursuit, turning to face is as Sonic continued to yell frantically. "He's got the Egg Carrier! We're too close to Station Square to be fighting him up there! Lead him away from here!"

Shadow and Knuckles each nodded once before heading off to the left together. Slowly, the Egg Carrier turned and followed.

Sonic looked down at me. "You wanna come with, or stay in the city?" he asked.

I pulled back slightly. "I'll go with you for sure."

He nodded. "Alright then. Hang on tight, Addison!"

I did just that, as he began running after his friends. "Where are we going, anyways?!" I asked loudly over the sound of the wind.

"I don't really know quite yet... As long as it's nowhere near Station Square or the Mystuc Ruins, it should be fine!" came Sonic's response.

I took a deep breath, which I found is rather difficult to do with air coming at me, and prepared to be like this for a while.

Much later, I stood beside Sonic, staring up at a huge airship. Shadow and Knuckles were already getting ready to jump on it, and soon they did. Sonic turned and grabbed my hand, smiling a little. I could see the excitement in his eyes. "You ready?" he asked. As soon as I nodded, he tightened his grip on my hand and leapt up, pulling me along with him.

I gasped as I looked down, the distance between my feet and the ground becoming too great for me to think of. Fearing the fall, I reached up and grabbed Sonic's hand with my other hand, now holding his one hand with both of mine, and stared ahead. Time seemed to pass painfully slow as all this happened, and yet...I liked it. Nothing exciting had happened in my life before this, nothing truly exhilarating, and finally it was happening. Any average person would consider their boring life to be 'too much excitement and trouble'...and here I was, leaping into an airship! I laughed a little, then looked ahead to focus on my real mission. _We're coming, Eggman..._

* * *

A heavy sigh forced its way out of me as I glanced back. "This doesn't end!" I muttered. "And I haven't helped too much...!"

Sonic shook his head from in front of me. "You've helped a lot. You're great. The only problem now is finding the front room. Where Eggman is."

Knuckles turned to us from Sonic's right and scoffed. "That should be easy. I can tell where the Chaos Emerald is." he said. "It's not too far from here, but he's not exactly making it easy on us."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "This is nothing." he said. "He's just trying to distract us. These robots are all really weak. Almost like they were made in a rush..."

I gasped. "Like they were made the day he went to Earth to look for the Emerald that we had!" I realized.

"So he _was_ planning this from the start." Shadow spat. He scoffed in a rather disgusted manner. "This is ridiculous. He's getting desperate, and this is pathetic. Even for him."

"I'm sure he's just power-hungry. After all, it's been almost a year since he's had any real power over anything but his own lair." Sonic replied dismissively.

"Or maybe he's jealous that your attention was on Sega instead of him." I suggested, holding back a laugh.

Knuckles' statement cut us all off.

"No. It's because he's afraid of Sega."

* * *

 _Born in one world, taken to the next. Fearing his own kind. Can such a thing even happen? To fear one's own kind...It's like fearing family... But...That_ can _happen. I've feared my family before...and such a thing will undoubtedly happen again, should I choose to go back. They've treated me...like an outsider._

 _But what has anybody done to Eggman to make him_ fear _them? Has he even talked to anybody on Earth? If so, what happened? And how could he possibly have traveled over here? He had to have had help...right?_

I sighed quietly and kicked at a rock. I'd been walking alone in the forest for a while now. The sun was beginning to set. My mind traveled to earlier today, when I thought _my_ sun was setting...

 _"Sonic!" I screamed. I could feel the ground beneath me shifting. A crack appeared in the floor, right under my foot, and I quickly jumped toward the famous blue hedgehog. "We're gonna fall!"_

 _"No way! Hang on!" He grabbed me and leapt up, onto another part of the room. A small shelf. It wasn't going to be enough to hold us..._

 _"Sonic!" We both turned our heads to see Knuckles. "This part of the ship is fake! Either that, or he's planning to replace it soon! Either way, we need to get off!"_

 _Shadow's voice sounded from below us. "Find a big piece of the floor and stay on it. Those will fall first. We can use them to et down safely." he explained calmly. I wasn't totally surprised to hear that; I was sure he'd escaped more than his fair share of crumbling buildings and such. He was the first to disappear into the falling ground, and I prayed he was safe. Soon, I saw Knuckles follow, and that's when I noticed there wasn't much room left...and then the ground began to approach me..._

 _"Hang on!" Sonic told me. I nodded and obeyed, but refused to close my eyes. Instead, I watched the floor around us collapse, and then we were falling..._

 _Fifteen seconds and one jump later, we were standing by Shadow and Knuckles, watching Eggman's airship slowly fall away. The last bits and pieces of the room we stood in just moments ago soon fell to the ground. I took a step_ _forward and looked over at the mess this had all made. "Oh no..."_

 _Sonic waved it off. "Don't worry about that now. Knuckles, what did you mean by, 'Eggman is afraid of SEGA'?"_

 _The echidna looked up. "It's because of how he was treated as a little kid. He doesn't even remember much I bet, he was so young, but all he knows is Earth people mean bad news."_

 _"Why was he treated like that?" Sonic pressed._

 _Knuckles frowned. "Because of the way Gerald, his grandfather, had acted during his own time on Earth."_

 _"The professor?!" Shadow asked suddenly. I didn't blame him...he was probably still trying to get every bit of information regarding his past, and those he was connected to, that he could. "Maria's grandfather?" he inquired, sounding desperate._

 _Knuckles nodded. "He had always acted in a way that they didn't consider...normal. He was always smarter than they were. They found it weird, and shunned him."_

 _Shadow frowned to himself, crossing his arms in a rather insecure way. I walked beside him and hugged him a little, not getting a hug back but still trying to comfort him._

 _"So he was sent to Mobius upon request, and Gerald and Maria went onto the ARK that he'd been creating. He'd used lots of his own inventions to build it over the years." Knuckles finished._

 _I nodded, amazed. "How'd you find all this out?"_

 _"The Master Emerald showed me a while ago. I don't see how it's important, but it must be somehow." Knuckles replied._

 _I sighed and held Shadow tightly. I didn't quite know how it was important either, but it had to be...a contribution, of sorts, to all of this. Not to mention Shadow...The poor thing must have been so happy to know_ something _. As he should be. I smiled a little as I felt his arms slowly wrap around my waist before tightening their hold._

I smirked a little as I remembered that I had gotten Shadow to hug me. _That wasn't even the first time since I've been here._ I thought. I sighed as I stood up. "Ah, well..." By now, Sonic and the others were probably waiting for me to return, so I decided to start heading back to Sonic's house.

Upon arriving there, I saw Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Silver. I smiled as I walked over to the blue hedgehog. "Hey, how are things?" I asked, looking around.

"Pretty good right now. How about you?" he asked, going to sit down in a chair by the table.

I shrugged as I joined him. "Not sure." I then leaned forward. "I'm a bit worried about Shadow." I admitted in a whisper.

"Hm...He should be okay." Sonic replied, glancing over at the jet black and Crimson hedgehog.

I closed my eyes. "I can only imagine what he's going through..."

Sonic frowned, his emerald orbs showing a hint of sadness. "He'll be okay. I'll help him."

I nodded. "That's good...Thank you. I promise you, your efforts don't go unnoticed." I told him with a smile.

He smiled back. "As long as I'm actually helping him, I'm happy."

I nodded once. _That's one of the many things I love about you, Sonic._ I thought. I then stood up. "Umm...would anybody mind if I went back to Earth for a bit?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

Sonic shook his head. "Nope. You're good to go." He looked up at me. "Thanks for everything so far." he murmured.

I couldn't help but grin at that. "Anytime." Turning away, I stared at the ground. _He - he said, 'so far'! So he does expect me to come back! That's great! I'm honored!_ I thought, giggling aloud a bit.

I had to fight to keep my balance as I felt something hit my side, hard. Looking down, I saw it was Shadow. His face was buried into my side, his hands each tightly holding a fistful of my shirt. I smiled at him and put a hand on his back. "What's up, Shadow?"

He looked up at me. "Can we talk?" he asked quietly.

I nodded quickly. "Anytime! Come with me." I led him upstairs, where we both sat on the bed that I used to travel between my world and theirs. Once we sat down, I looked down at him. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head as he looked down. "Nothing's wrong...I just want to thank you for everything you've done. You really have helped all of us...including me..." he muttered, now pulling up his leg and fiddling with his shoe.

I broke into a smile at this. "Aw, Shadow...it's no trouble at all." I told him, reaching over. I took a gentle hold of his hand, and he looked up at me. "And I'm not going anywhere, don't you worry. I'd be in tears if I had to leave right now." I added with a soft laugh.

His eyes widened, and his grip on my hand suddenly tightened. "You mean you're staying?!"

I smiled even more. "Not forever, but I will definitely come back here every day...As long as I can." I replied.

"You...Thank goodness..." He sighed heavily, leaning forward a bit.

I reached over and picked him up slightly, doing the unthinkable: I placed him in my lap, hugging him tightly. Closing my eyes, I rubbed his back gently. "I'm never leaving forever. Not by choice. I love it here...I love you."

He hugged me back just as tightly, his fingers clutching my shirt so tightly that he was probably going to leave marks in my back...but I honestly didn't care one bit. I made Shadow happy...I got Sonic to thank me...Hell, I helped them get a Chaos Emerald back. What more could I ask for?

Nothing. I was happier here and now then I'd be anywhere else, or for the rest of my existence. And yet... Something told me, that as long as I'd be here...There would be even more happiness awaiting me.


	13. A Shadow Follows You Everywhere

_**This may be the last chapter I post on this story because FFN is fucking it up beyond compare. See the first chapter for constant typos and such caused by a glitchy site, and now all of what I wrote within this last week was just erased this morning, so... Yeah. Don't expect too much more effort from this because I actually worked on this and I'm not in the mood for anymore bullshit from this site.**_

* * *

I gasped as I opened my eyes. Sitting straight up, I looked around. "Huh?!"

My mom and dad stood by the door. "What happened to you?!" they shouted in unison.

I flinched. "Whaddya mean?!"

"Why have you been asleep for the last ten minutes?!" my mom demanded, walking in. "What are you doing to be so tired?"

I felt my hands clench into fists. "Nothing! I just...stayed up really late, that's all!"

My mom grabbed my arm and yanked me up, forcing me to my feet. "You need to get up now. This is ridiculous."

I nodded silently. _How could I forget... I'm back home..._ I then shook my head furiously. _That's not true at all! I don't belong here!_ I ran past my parents and out of my bedroom as soon as my mom released my arm. I couldn't get away fast enough. My heart pounded.

"Now where are you going?!" I heard my mom's voice from atop the stairs.

I put my hand on the rail's end, which formed a hollow circle, and used it to turn around. "I'm...going to the park. I'm gonna meet my friend there today." I lied.

"I want you back in two hours!" she said, starting down the stairs. Her brown hair hovered just above her shoulders, but couldn't hide the dark, beady eyes that glared at me as they approached.

"Four!" I blurted, knowing this would get me at least an extra hour.

"Three."

I turned around and hid the smirk that I felt tugging my mouth up. "Fine." I then dashed out of the front door. Once again, I couldn't escape fast enough. "Sonic...Shadow..." I got closer and closer to tears as I saw the park. "Please..."

I ran straight up to my favorite tree, a large oak with a thick trunk and low-hanging branches. I leapt up and grabbed a branch, pulling myself up and quickly climbing the tree. Finding the highest, yet safest, fork in the branches, I quickly got comfortable and closed my eyes.

* * *

"...said she wouldn't leave forever by choice." a voice was saying.

 _Huh?! Who's..._ I opened my eyes and saw Shadow standing, right beside my bed, arms crossed and facing the door, where Silver stood. A bit behind Shadow was Sonic, who smiled at me when I opened my eyes.

"You're back already?" he asked, walking over.

Shadow looked down at me. "Huh?" He then smirked. "So, the Faker doesn't lie."

I was already doing everything I could to hold back tears, but the sight of them just pushed me overboard. "No, Shadow! Please, I don't want to go back there!" I cried, sitting up and latching onto him. "Please! Please!" I began sobbing, burying my face in his chest, feeling that soft fur once again...knowing I was here, and safe...

The black and Crimson hedgehog seemed startled. "Wh-what?! What's wrong?"

"I can't go back! Not yet, I don't want to!" I looked up at him and wiped my eyes. "...I'm sorry, Shadow, but I just can't! And I have to in three hours! I don't want to go back, please...ahh!" I put my head down and screamed in frustration.

"Addison...why not? What happened?" he asked calmly, gently wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. "Is someone there threatening you?"

I nuzzled him a little, sniffling. "Y-yes, maybe..." I shook my head then. "I don't know. Please..."

He gently put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back. "Who?" he said, bending down and staring into my eyes.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't look away. "...M-my parents..."

Shadow's gaze suddenly hardened into a glare. "Why?!"

I flinched. "I-I don't know...!"

Sonic walked over then, easing Shadow back and sitting down beside me. "Hey, it's okay. You can come here whenever you need, okay?"

I nodded and sighed. "Yeah, thank you..."

"Come here..." Sonic reached his arms out and hugged me tightly. It was my immediate instinct to hug him back, and I held him close, not wanting to let go... Ever...

"Addison, whatever's happening, just know we're here for you, okay?" Silver asked, also walking over.

I nodded as I pulled away from Sonic. "Yeah...thanks..."

Shadow sat on my other side and leaned on me a bit. "We'll protect you while you're here." he whispered.

I wrapped my right arm around his thin frame, holding him right against my body. "I know. That's all I could ask for."

Sonic sighed. "Is it always that bad?"

I closed my eyes and faced down. "Yeah...I forgot about it all when focusing on helping you guys."

"Hm..." Silver walked over. "Maybe one of us should go spend some time with you whenever it gets too bad." he suggested, coming to stand in front of me.

I nodded and sniffled a little, embarrassed. "You guys...shouldn't have to see this...I'm so sorry..." I muttered.

"Don't feel bad. We're here to help. It's the least we could do." Shadow said, closing his eyes as he rested his head against my side.

"Not to mention we care." Sonic chimed in. "You're our friend." He smiled up at me, and I don't think anything else could make me smile so much, especially when I'm so upset... But at his smile, I started grinning.

"Thank you guys... Does anybody wanna go walk around some?" I offered, chuckling nervously a bit.

"Sure." Sonic replied quickly. "We could all use it."

I nodded and released him and Shadow, standing up. "Okay...where to first?"

* * *

Sonic sighed as he collapsed against a tree. "Agh... I'm beat."

"You did nothing but eat." Shadow retorted, walking over to the other side of the tree.

Silver flew up into the branches and called down, "Yeah, but it can be hard when you eat so much so fast."

I laughed as I headed over to them. "Well well... You okay, Sonic?" I asked, kneeling down in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." He gave me a thumbs-up.

"Hey..." Shadow peeked around the tree. "How long have we been out?"

I gasped. "Quick!"

"Uhh..." Sonic glanced into the city, where a large clock adorned the face of a shopping center. "It's been two and a half hours."

I looked down. "Hmm..." I then sighed and stood up. "I should probably head back home."

"I'll go with you." Shadow said, standing up and immediately walking over.

"Huh?! Shadow, that's too risky-"

"I don't care." He grabbed my arm. "I'm going to help you. Let's go."

I glanced at his hand, then sighed. "...Fine..."

"I'll use Chaos Control to teleport there. You go to sleep." A Chaos Emerald suddenly appeared above him. He let go of my arm and held out his hand, and the Emerald slowly came down to rest in his palm. "I'll see you soon." He held the Emerald to his chest as he stepped back. "Chaos...Control!" He vanished in a flash of blue light.

Sonic stood up and walked over to me. "We'd better hurry." He picked me up, bridal-style, and began running to his house.

Silver wasn't far behind us. "Why is Shadow doing this?!" he asked, flying beside Sonic and me as the blue hedgehog ran.

I didn't know what to say. Luckily, Sonic answered for me. "He's worried about her. He sees her the same way he saw Maria; someone to protect."

 _Huh?!...That can't be!_ I clung to Sonic, hiding my face.

"Ohh..." Silver mused.

We reached Sonic's house in a matter of minutes, as he wasn't going as fast as he could have. He set me down and I quickly hurried inside and into his bedroom, where I sat down on his bed.

Sonic had followed me into his room, and stood beside me by his bed. "Are you ready?" he asked, sighing a little.

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes...I am."

Silver, having followed us inside, hovered by my head. "Good luck..."

I nodded and looked at Sonic. "Do you know when Shadow will be back with you guys?"

Sonic looked down. "...Not exactly. He seems determined to protect you. I guess that means he'll stay as long as he needs."

I closed my eyes, thinking a bit, before opening them. "Okay...Thank you."

He nodded and walked up to me, hugging me. I hugged him back tightly, squeezing my eyes shut as I rested my cheek on his head.

"You'll be okay...I promise." he whispered as we pulled away. I could only nod in response, but offered a small smile as well.

Silver then flew closer and landed beside me. It was his turn to be hugged tightly, and I sighed a bit as he rubbed my back gently. "We'll be waiting to hear back from either one of you." he said quietly. I nodded and we both pulled of.

I then lay back on the bed and pulled the covers over my trembling body. "Okay...I'll see you guys later..." I closed my eyes, the last thing to cross my mind being the image of Sonic and Silver, standing side by side, waving at me, both smiling lightly...

* * *

I opened my eyes and immediately sat up, climbing down from the tree. I quickly glanced around to find my place and figure out my path out of the park, and as soon as I had, I ran out, as fast as I could. The only thing on my mind then was Shadow.

I ran straight up to an intersection, and furiously pushed the cross button. As soon as I was flashed a shape of a walking human, I continued on to my house. I was there in no less (yet no more) than seven minutes, using clocks around town to find the time. I opened the front door and burst into the house. "I'm home!" I called, so my parents wouldn't go looking for me. Right now, I felt so dizzy, lightheaded, ready to faint...I knew it was because as soon as I was awake in this body, I had suddenly started running as fast as I could over here, not allowing any time for breaks. I glanced up the stairs. _Come on...Just one more run..._ I thought, nodding once. I then sprinted upstairs, quickly opening my door to see a familiar hedgehog standing by my bed, facing the door. "Shadow..." I panted, but I lost all control of my body, falling to my knees. I could only kick the door closed, so my parents wouldn't hear anything.

"Whoa, what happened...?" Shadow asked, walking over. He wrapped an arm around mine and helped me to a standing position before guiding me to the bed, where I sat down, still breathless. He sat down beside me and leaned against me gently, closing his eyes and nuzzling my arm. This was much like what he'd done back at Sonic's house... "Are you okay...?" he asked, opening his eyes and looking up at me.

I smiled at him a bit and wrapped an arm around him, tightly holding him to my side. "Yes..." I murmured. "...I'm okay now."

He sighed and looked down. "But what about when I'm not with you...?" He looked up at me. "I can't always be here for you, you know..."

I shook my head. "That's okay. You're here now, so that's fine."

He leaned on me a bit more then. "It's not okay...You need somebody...better."

 _What?! Why would he say such a thing?_ I opened my mouth to say something, but he suddenly put his finger up to my lips, successfully silencing me.

He held an arm out in front of me as he stood up, most likely to tell me to stay sitting. I did just that, and only watched as he walked over to my door, where he simply stood, his hands in fists at his sides. His head was angled downward as he stared at the floor.

"Shadow, what-" I began to ask, but again he silenced me by turning his head to me and putting a finger to his own lips. I nodded and sighed a bit, but did as I was told.

Suddenly, he turned his whole body to me and leapt at me, giving no warning of doing so. He knocked me onto my back on the bed. He stared at me, sitting on my stomach, his hands on my shoulders. "They're coming!" he hissed, his grip on my shoulders tightening.

"What?!" I was up in a second, holding Shadow up by his underarms. "Uhh..." I turned to my bed. I lightly tossed him to the corner, where he landed in a pile of pillows. He looked up at me expectantly. I grabbed a pillow and pulled it back. "Hide in there!" I whispered. I watched as he did his best to curl up into a tiny ball, and as soon as he stopped moving, I moved the pillows to cover him up. "Sorry..." I muttered, jumping into the bed and leaning on the pile of pillows. I heard a groan from underneath and winced. "I'm sorry, it looks suspicious otherwise..." I said quietly. I quickly grabbed my 3DS from behind my main pillows, turning it on and beginning to play.

My door burst open not a minute later, and I looked up to see my mom standing in the doorway.

"Hi, mom..."

"So, where'd you go again?" she asked.

"Just to the park." I said, closing my 3DS.

"Then how come nobody saw you?" she continued.

"I was up a tree." I answered simply.

"Doing what?" she pressed.

I sighed. "Well, none of my friends showed up, so I just slept." I told her, getting a bit annoyed.

"Why didn't you just come home?!" she yelled, walking in.

"I...didn't want to. I don't have to come home just 'cos nobody is there, y'know. Sleeping is just as good an option...if not better." I opened my 3DS and glanced up at her. "Can I play in peace now?"

"No."

"Huh?" I looked up at her fully, watching as she came over, grabbing my 3DS and tossing it to the floor. "Hey!"

She roughly grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. "You need to stay where your father and I can keep an eye on you at all times." she said, starting to pull me to the door.

I gasped. "Wha-why?!" I demanded, digging my feet into the wood floors as hard as I could.

She whipped around to look at me. "Who were you talking to?"

"Uhh...When?" I asked, stalling.

"Just now."

 _Damn it..._ "Myself..."

"Lies. Your toys, is that it?" she said, shifting her weight to her left foot.

"Um, no, I don't _have_ any toys." I snapped.

"Your damn plush toys." she spat. "These." She released my arm and headed straight for my bed.

I gasped loudly. "No, no, I know what you're talking about, okay?!" I ran over and leapt onto my bed, trying my best to protect Shadow from detection. But my mom didn't even seem to care as she grabbed my arms, pulling me back.

"How many do you have, I wonder?" she asked. In my ears, she sounded borderline evil.

"Like, six!" I yelled, ripping myself away and curling up in the corner. I snuck a hand behind the pillows and found Shadow's body. I quickly figured I had a hand on one of his back quills, and stroked it gently.

"Let me _see_ them!" my mom shouted, grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling me off. The force sent me to the floor, where I could only sit up and scream.

She pulled back the pillow, and...

Nothing.

I felt a pair of hands press against my back, and immediately I sat up to shield Shadow's figure from my mom's prying eyes.

She turned to me and frowned. "Where are they?! And why are you putting up such a fake fight over nothing?!"

"Cuz...You'll never find them." I told her with a smirk I lowered my voice even more as I muttered, "Or me."

"Huh?! What the hell are you talking ab-"

"Shut up!" I snapped, reaching a hand behind me. Shadow grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. My mom watched silently, only able to see my part of the next work of art...

"Take me...to the creek." I said quietly.

There was a flash of blue light, and suddenly, the ground beneath me shifted. I looked down to see grass and some standing water.

I turned to Shadow behind me and beamed. "Thank you!" I hugged him tightly and nuzzled him furiously. He hugged me back, whispering three words that I thought would never come out of his mouth...Not words so affectionate...Especially not aimed towards me.

"Shhh...You're safe now."


	14. Escape

_**Meh. Giving this thing another chance...just cuz.**_

I held Shadow tightly to me, smiling at the ground. "Thank you, Shadow..."

He chuckled a bit and pulled away, smirking up at me. "You didn't really think I'd let her find me, did you?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well..." I trailed off, then spoke up again. "I kinda...forgot about Chaos Control..." I replied, chuckling nervously.

Shadow scoffed and waved it off. "It's okay. I don't use it very often...Not like that, anyways." He then glanced around, the creek right behind me. "So...You said to take you to the creek, correct?" he asked, looking up at me. He wasn't smiling at this point, which made me a bit uneasy.

"Yeah...why?"

"Would your mother know where this is, by any chance?" he continued, answering my question with a new one.

"Um...yeah, probably..." I admitted with a sigh.

"Then let's go." he said, quickly grabbing my hand. "Does she have a vehicle she uses for transportation?" he asked, clearly not familiar with the word 'car'.

I nodded as he began walking, though he was doing so a bit fast...even for me, despite the height difference. "She drives a silver truck."

He looked up at me. "Where would she store such a thing?" he asked, still walking.

"Um...There are smaller versions of what you're probably thinking about." I told him. "Hers is like...A silver box, with four door, two on each side. And it's got a tail that's the same color, but only half the height. And the tail is open on the top, made for storing supplies.

"Does it look like that?" he asked, pointing to the road. Fear struck into me as I looked out, but vanished as I realized it was not my mom's.

"Yes, exactly like that, but silver instead of blue." I replied.

At that, he began walking me deeper into the forest. "Alright. Well, she didn't seem like the kind of woman who would follow us in here, even with such a vehicle."

"Huh?" I looked at him. "Whaddya mean?"

"The one you just described to me would be fine with traveling over any dirt or grassy terrain. But with all of these trees, she would risk damage to it. So this is our escape." he explained, picking up the pace a bit.

I nodded. "Okay..." I then gasped when I heard a voice behind us.

"Addison?!"

I suddenly broke into an all-out sprint, Shadow quickly adjusting his speed to match mine. "I know that voice..." I hissed, glancing back.

"Who is it?" Shadow asked me, looking up at me.

"My mom has friends all over the city. They act as spies while I'm at school, and anywhere else, really. I have to work to avoid them, but it's hard. My mom must have told them that I came here, and sent them looking for me!" I said. "This forest ends by a neighborhood...But it's not one we can easily hide in."

Shadow looked ahead, then all around us. "What about that way?" he asked, pointing to the right.

"A street...Lots of them." I replied, frowning. "But..." I gasped, suddenly getting an idea. "Shadow, wait a second!" I slowed my running, and he skidded to a stop. We hid behind a tree, and I explained my plan to him.

"Some of my friends live in apartments by the school I go to. We can probably hide out there." I said as we crouched down. "What do you think?"

"You can find refuge there. I will stay back at your house." Shadow said, nodding once.

I shook my head quickly. "No way. They'd find you. And you don't know your way around the city enough to just come back to the apartments if you find yourself trapped. You have limited access to everything here...Jist come with me, and play along." I said. I then looked around. "Just one more neighborhood...Then we'll be in the open for a bit...But we can do this. Just go along with what I'm doing. Go limp when I carry you, and don't speak. Don't blink unless nobody is looking, or I'm running."

"Why will you be carrying me?" he inquired, narrowing his eyes.

"Part of making sure nobody here finds out you're real." I explained. "...You can hold your breath, right?"

Shadow nodded. "For as long as necessary, yes. Why?"

"I'll need you to do that when I'm around others, too. And don't talk unless we both know nobody is within earshot." I said. "...Ready?"

We both stood up, and he extended his arms out to me like a two-year-old wanting to be picked up. I chuckled at the thought as I picked him up and held him close to my chest. His arms found their way around my neck, and he wrapped his legs around my torso, locking them together at the small of my back.

"This is okay, right?" he whispered in my ear.

I nodded. "For now. I'll have to carry you differently when going into their apartments." I replied. After feeling him nod in understanding, I started running back through the forest, then headed into the nearest neighborhood. It was pretty easy to find my way through and out, but what sucked was the large road that I now had to cross. I waited impatiently for the screen to flash me a human walking shape, and when it did, I shot like a rocket across the street - all six lanes.

Shadow gasped from my shoulder. "Addison!" he hissed.

"What is it?" I asked quietly, trying not to move my mouth too much.

"Some man is following you!" Shadow whispered, clinging to me tighter.

I pressed his small body to my chest and kept running, even after reaching the sidewalk. "We're almost there!" I said. I made a sharp turn into the first cul-de-sac I saw, then dove into the bushes in the first yard. "Here." I panted, easing Shadow off of me. He immediately looked out through any gaps the bush left, ears perked and tail straight down. I gently rubbed his back to calm him down a bit. "See anything?" I asked under my breath.

"He's looking for you." Shadow muttered, turning towards me. "Make yourself small."

I nodded and curled up as tightly as I could, growing nervous. Shadow kept a lookout for what seemed like an hour, until he finally turned back to me. "He's gone. Let's go."

"Okay." We both stood up and walked out of the bushes. "I'll have to carry you differently now; we're almost at their apartment." I said. He nodded and lifted his arms silently. I smiled at how calmly obedient he was before picking him up and carrying him by his body. "Lean your head on me," I whispered, "otherwise it'll will be jerked around." He did so, and I quickly began walking to the next cul-de-sac.

I found the apartment with ease, and knocked on the door. It wasn't answered immediately...So I waited. After what I guessed to be about 15 minutes, there was still no answer. "I don't think anybody is home..." I sighed. "There's one more person around here that we can turn to. And he's almost always home." I said. I hurried just one door down, and knocked on it. But when there was no immediate answer, my heart fell. "He's...not home...?"

"What does that mean?" Shadow asked, leaning his head back a bit and looking up at me.

"Well...They've probably all gone out shopping or something...and we can't afford to waste time here. We'll have to go somewhere else...But I just don't know where. I can only remember one person's phone number that I could call...But it'd be a waste of time. He went downtown just four days ago and isn't going to return for three more." I sighed heavily. "Now what...? The whole city is after me...And I don't even have any good hiding spots..."

"Hold on. Don't give up so easily. You said that we're by your...learning facility, right?" he asked. I chuckled a bit at his ignorance of the word 'school', but nodded. "Well," he said, "you can go there."

"Um...Good idea...But one problem." I said, biting my lip nervously.

"What would that be?"

"Well, they lock down the building when we're not in class."

Shadow thought for a moment. "Hmm...Well, in every building, there are other ways inside. We'll just have to find it."

I nodded, then froze. "Well...I don't really like being in dark buildings...This one will look abandoned, and I don't know if I can do that..." I muttered, feeling my whole body involuntarily tremble at the memory of videos I've seen. "No way..."

He hugged me tightly. "Addison...Shh...It will be fine. I'll be right there with you, at all times. I promise."

"O-okay...Please don't ever go anywhere..." I whispered, hugging him back.

He then released me and leaned his head against my chest again. "Let's go."

I nodded and started walking, but Shadow stopped me. "Shh, stop!" he whispered.

I stopped, but it was too late.

A pair of arms wrapped around my body, and I screamed. "HELP!"

"Let me go, _now_!" Shadow yelled, pushing his hands against me. I quickly did so, and he fell to his feet in front of me. Whoever was grabbing me brought me to the ground, then leapt up and over my head. "Release her at _once_!"

"Oof!" I felt my captor shift then let go of me, and I took the opportunity to spin around and kick them square in the jaw.

"What the hell was that for?!" I demanded, leaping at what I discovered to be a 'him'.

"Hey, whoa, hang on!" he cried, standing up and grabbing my arms. "Let me explain!"

"No, let go!" I yelled, pulling back. But he was stronger, and he pulled me closer. "Hey! I said let go!"

Shadow slowly walked closer to us, glaring at the...man? Boy?...male...who held me.

"Either you let her go now, or I'll show you what it means to feel pain." he said.

I gasped, noticing his eyes were almost...glowing. The normal crimson coloration was now in full effect, and his eyes appeared blood-red.

The man who held me suddenly got an evil look on her face as he reached into his pants. "I wouldn't, Shadow..."

I gasped. _This man knows who Shadow is...! Then what does he... Oh no...He must be working for Sega... Shoot!_ "I..."

"Silence!" the man spat. "Shadow...We don't want...a replay of... _Maria_...Do we?" he asked I suddenly felt a small circle pressed against my back, and resisted the urge to scream.

Shadow froze, shaking violently. "No...Don't you dare shoot her! _Let her go now_!" He lunged forward and grabbed the gun, throwing it to the ground and shoving me away before kicking the man down and standing over him. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" he demanded darkly.

The man chuckled nervously. "W-wait. I can explain, really..."

"Who do you work for?!" Shadow asked. "Tell me before I rip your heart out!"

I frowned. _Shadow...That mention of Maria was the last thing you needed...Now you're sure to be upset for...well, who knows how long..._

Shadow was beginning to hyperventilate. "Either you tell me...right now...or I'll do to you _exactly_ what you planned on doing to her! You and I both know you meant it!" He was beginning to yell.

"Shadow...Shh...it's okay..." I tried to soothe him.

He turned to me. "It is _not_ okay! Tell me that when you lose somebody like Maria! And to have it almost happen again..." his voice was starting to break, which crushed me. He then turned back to the man. "Well?!"

"Well...I...I wanted you to...stay here...at my house...Like what you must be doing with this girl." the man stuttered, gesturing to me.

"Tch! Don't make me laugh. _You_ want _me_ to stay with you, after you almost _murdered_ my friend?!" Shadow snapped.

I smiled a little. _So he does consider me a friend...I'm glad..._

"Don't insult me!" Shadow kicked the man, sending him rolling a couple of feet back. "Your pathetic life isn't even worth taking. Leave my sight at once."

"H-hey!" The man struggled to stand, glaring at both of us. "Why are you so mad?"

"If you truly are that dense, I suggest you just accept that I want to kill you and take this opportunity to run." Shadow muttered. He then turned to me without another word. "Are you alright?...Please forgive me...You were almost..."

"Shh, not, it's okay! I'm safe!" I said, hugging him tightly. "Let's just go to the school and-"

"Addison...That isn't okay...I almost lost you..." he whispered, his hands grabbing the back of my shirt and pulling on it...pulling me closer.

"Shadow..." I knelt down and stared at him. "It's fine. To you, I should be a total stranger anyways. I'm pretty sure I didn't meet you because of destiny or fate...More like...Maybe an accident." He was about to speak, but I continued. "If I were to have died just now...you shouldn't be one to even know about it...let alone care. Okay?"

"I...I..." He seemed unable to speak, so I picked him up gently and started walking to the school. He only closed his eyes and clung to me.

The man who'd attacked us spoke up then. "Hey...Where are you going?"

I stopped and turned to face him. "To school." I said flatly.

"But...it's summer." the man said, looking confused.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Are you...going to summer school?" he pressed.

I shook my head. "Sessions aren't being held here this year."

"Then why-"

"None of your business. Look, are you going to call the cops on us?" I asked.

"...Why would I?"

"Shadow isn't supposed to be here." I said, trusting him with this information for whatever reason. "You wanted him to be with _you_. Would you call out of jealousy?"

The man stood up and shook his head. "Hm...No. I'm a fan, but not a jealous one. I'll leave you two be. If you ever need a place to stay, my house is open. And, Shadow...?"

The hedgehog poked his head out and looked at him. "What?" he spat quietly.

"I'm sorry...I really am a huge fan...But I got carried away. I guess I was jealous..." he said.

Shadow shook his head. "You got more than carried away. You almost murdered her. Just leave us alone and I won't kill you." He then hid his face in my shoulder.

I sighed. "Thank you anyways." I SAID TO THE MAN.

He nodded and went back inside his house. Seeing this, I turned and continued on my path to the school.

Shadow seemed to fall asleep on the way there, which kind of surprised me, but I didn't wake him until we were at the back of the school. I walked over behind some trailer-type buildings used for some classes, and set him down on the high ground before a hill. "Shad-" I froze. His face...was twisted into a grimace. "Shadow?!" I quickly shook him. "Shadow, wake up!"

He flinched and opened his eyes, looking up at me. "What..."

I picked him up and hugged him tightly. "Shadow, what were you dreaming about?!"

"I...What was I..." He hugged me back before trying to pull away quickly. "Nothing. Are we at your learning facility?"

"...Shadow...Was it Maria?" I asked, knowing the answer was:

"Yes..." He frowned. "It's not important now. Let's go."

"Shadow, it is important if-"

"Addison, it doesn't matter!" he snapped, standing up.

I flinched and nodded slowly. "Okay...I'm sorry."

"You're fine. Let's just get inside." he muttered, walking over to an entrance.

I stood up and followed him without another word. _If what I'm getting out of this is true...then I'm gonna live here with Shadow for...a while. But...how will that work?_

We walked up to the door, and he glanced at the handles before grabbing them.

"Shadow...It's locked..." I said quietly.

"I know. So here." He closed his eyes, and some sort of energy flew from his arms, into the door handles. A familiar 'click' sounded from the doors, and he turned to look at me. "That noise means it's unlocked, right?" I nodded. "Good. Let's go in." He pulled the doors open and walked in. I followed, and the doors closed behind us, locking once more.

I looked at him. "How did you do that without breaking the locks?" I asked, incredulous.

"I have my ways...Now. Where would you like to stay?" he asked, glancing around the hallway.

"Up here." Halfway down the hallway we were in, there was a staircase with a wall made entirely out of windows. "This is my favorite place to go when I can stay after." I led him to the staircase, which had a small floor area between two flights of stairs.

He stood by the windows and looked out. "I can see why..." he mused quietly. "It's nice up here."

I nodded, looking down. _And this wall of windows probably reminds you of the ARK..._ I thought with a small sigh. I then looked up at him. "Okay...we're here. Now what?"

He shrugged a bit, slowly turning to face me. "I'm not sure. What would you like to do?"

"To be honest, I want to sleep forever...Or go to Mobius again." I replied, sitting down on the thin windowsill.

Shadow sat on the other side of the windowsill and gazed at the sky. "That's too risky. I would have to wake you up should anyone come, and I don't want to make you just fall unconscious there."

"Then I can stay in bed..." I offered, staring at the stairs before me.

"Still...What if you don't wake up?"

"If I may ask...Why do you need me awake?" I queried.

"Because I don't know my way around this building. If I were to get us trapped or cornered somewhere, using Chaos Control may be a bit risky. Then they'd all know that I can use it here, as well."

"I suppose so..." I sighed. "Then I guess we just make ourselves at home here."

Shadow nodded and looked over at me. "Is there anything you'd like to talk about...?"

I thought for a moment. "Hmm...If I talk, I may just start fangirling." I replied with a nervous chuckle. "So...Might I sing a song for you...?"

Shadow stared at me. Silent. Perhaps he was thinking. But he finally answered, with one small nod, and a quiet, "Yes."

I took a deep breath. _Alright. You can do this..._

I began singing a beautiful version of his theme, I Am...All Of Me.

"I see no, hear no Evil; Black Writing on the Wall..."


	15. Hideout, Discovered

_Run. Run. Never stop running._

 _By now, we'd been running so much, so fast...My chest was beginning to hurt._

 _And yet, the police only came closer and closer. Their cars made it easy for them to catch us._

 _"They're going to get us!" Shadow cried. He then began to slow down. "...I will not make it this time. Keep running, though, Addison. You will live. But...It is time for me."_

 _Suddenly, beside me, Shadow fell to his knees. Looking over at him, I saw nothing wrong with him other than a rope around his arms. But then I blinked._

 _Blood. Everywhere. Flowing from his arms and legs, his chest, his neck..._

 _His face..._

 _"SHADOW!" I picked him up, but it was already too late. His small body was now limp in my arms. He wasn't breathing. The whole world vanished as all I saw was Shadow's face. His last words...predicting his fate. His last expression...one of pure agony..._

 _I held him up and pressed his body against mine, not caring how dirty I became, or if I even got caught._

 _I held back a sob as his arms limply draped over mine, and his head rolled back. His eyes...Those brilliant red orbs...were undoubtedly the color of ash now. His beautiful heart...torn to shreds while still in his body._

 _His soul..._

 _So tortured, yet so eager to please...eager to help...Just wanting to find a purpose... Now lost forever in the abyss that we humans called eternal sleep. Utter lifelessness._

 _Death._

* * *

I opened my eyes to see... Shadow. Asleep.

 _Or are you dead, perhaps..._ _?_ I wondered, sitting up and inching closer. _How can I be sure that was no dream...?_ I touched his hand... He flinched away and opened his eyes, looking up at me.

"Addison..." he mumbled, sitting up. "...Is everything okay?"

I nodded and suddenly lunged at him, wrapping my arms around him and hugging him tightly to me. "Shadow, thank goodness..." I breathed. "You're okay...You're still...Alive..."

He hugged me back, but leaned his head back upon hearing the last word. "...Yes...I am...Did you have a bad dream?" he asked quietly.

"Yes..." I squeezed my eyes shut. "But I won't let it happen...!"

Shadow sighed and rubbed my back a bit. "You're under too much stress..."

I pulled away. "No...I think I'm just a bit worried..."

Shadow sat back and pulled out my arms, then gently held my hands as he spoke to me. "You must stop worrying...you'll be okay. Everything will be okay. I promise. I will protect you. You will return safely, and live a happy life. This...this is my promise I'm making to you."

It was all I could do to nod my head and offer a smile.

His voice was like a lullaby. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep forever, eternally held in his arms.

I trusted Shadow with everything I had. He said he would protect me, which meant he would protect me. He wasn't going to let me down. He wouldn't allow himself to.

"Shadow...thank you..." I bowed my head a little. "I promise to fight beside you until my last breath."

He pulled me close, then wrapped his arms around me. He buried his face in my shoulder. Then, although muffled, he spoke once more.

"And for that, I am grateful."

I threw my arms around him and squeezed his small frame against my chest. _There's no need to thank me, Shadow... But I have everything to thank you for._ I then pulled away and looked at him. "Shadow...the Hedgehog...Thank you."

Shadow smiled at me. "There's no need to thank me, Addison..."

I shook my head. "There is. There are so many things you've done...and I can't tell you how grateful I am."

Shadow chuckled quietly. "If you insist..." He then stood up. "...Are you hungry?"

I thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. "A little." I admitted, standing up as well.

Shadow looked around, down the flight of stairs which led to the first floor. "...Is there any food down on that level?" he asked, looking up at me.

I thought for a moment. "...Um...If there is anything, it would be in the vending machines." I replied.

He nodded and turned to look down the stairs. "Then let's go look."

I nodded, then walked beside him as he headed downstairs. We walked down into another hallway, then turned into yet another hallway, which eventually led to the main corridor.

Shadow looked around at the rows of lockers, ears perked. "Is this a storage room?" he asked, seemingly awed by it. He then looked up, at the sunroof, and over to the balconies from upstairs. "Interesting..."

I smiled a little. "Come on, Shadow. I'll give you the full tour soon enough." I grabbed his arm and gently pulled, getting his attention and finally leading him into the cafeteria. He just stopped and started staring around, so I eventually grabbed his hand and began walking faster. "Shadow, we don't have much time..." I said quietly.

He looked up at me from examining the floor. "Why not?" he asked.

I stopped and pointed up to a security camera on the ceiling. "You see that little black and white thing?" He nodded. "Well, it's a security device. A camera. It'll record anything within its vision. If it records us and if somebody looks at the footage-"

"They will know we're here." Shadow cut in. "I understand."

I nodded a little. "Yeah. And I don't-"

"Know if they're on? I can almost promise you that they all are. Wouldn't they want to protect this facility?" Shadow asked.

I looked at him. "You suddenly know a lot about security cameras." I chuckled.

He nodded once. "There were many on the ARK." he told me.

I paused. "...You remember that?" I asked quietly.

He nodded again. "There were many times when I was told to go check on the footage, or watch over a room or two." he explained. "I'll never forget the time I was monitoring a machinery room and saw Maria in it..."

I looked at him, silently begging him to keep telling me more. Though he didn't see me as he was staring at the ground again, he complied with my wish.

"I ran down there as fast as I could...She seemed nervous in there. It turned out she had been playing a game with a friend, and she'd gotten lost." He then looked up at me. "She was lucky I found her."

I nodded slowly. "Yes...She was." I then smiled a little at him. "Anybody would be lucky to have you there to help them." I said. "I know I sure am."

A tiny smile appeared on his face as he looked away. "I suppose..." he mumbled. He then looked back up at me. "...So...where are those machines you spoke of...?"

"Right. Vending machines. This way." I said, gesturing to the other side of the cafeteria. I began walking, and Shadow was quick to follow.

Upon reaching the other side, we walked through a doorway that led to another hallway...of sorts. There were 4 vending machines on the other wall, two in front of us, and two on the other end of the 'hall'. The one closest to us was the one I walked up to. It usually had the best snacks. I was relieved to discover that it did indeed have food... But then remembered what I had on me.

"Shoot."

Shadow immediately looked up at me. "What is it?"

"I don't have any money." I sighed. "Great."

Shadow looked back at the machine. "...Maybe I can get you something without it." he said, walking closer to the machine.

"Wait, don't do-" I froze as he put his hand through the slot where the food would come out. Slowly, he began trying to pull himself through the slot to reach the food. He shoved his hand through what appeared to be doors made to stop things from going through that way, then stopped. "I can't go in any further...!" he grunted. "Urgh!" He tried to push his hand further in and grab the nearest bag. He finally succeeded, and yanked his arm out, then had to pull his body out of the main releasing section. "Damn this thing..."

I laughed a little and placed my hands on the sides of his body, pulling gently. "We'll get you out of there..." I assured, pulling a little harder.

Shadow yelled out suddenly, wrenching his body out of my grip. "My leg is caught!" he cried.

I bit my lip as I stood back. "I'm...Just pull hard. Do it like a band-aid." I suggested, smiling a little to try and reassure him.

He paused and suddenly yanked his leg out, falling to the ground in front of the machine. The bag of food was in his hand, a package containing two bars of whole-grain with honey flavoring. I smiled as I saw this and rushed to his side, helping him up. "Thank you! Those are my favorite!" I said, taking the bars as he held them out.

He nodded once. "Of course. You need to eat."

"And these are actually healthy!" I told him, grinning. "Yay!" I plopped down right there and began eating the bars, having already torn into the wrapper. "Mm..." I sighed, the first bite in my mouth. "I missed these..."

Shadow walked over to the machine and began to silently inspect it as I ate the bars. It was a rather casual scene...Until we heard the sound of doors slamming open.

Gasping, I stood up and turned around. _The doors...should be locked! Is someone looking for us? Someone with keys?!_ I wondered, backing away slightly. "...Shadow..." The second I heard the footsteps running in was the second my hand was on his arm and my feet were dashing across the floor. I didn't even bother to give Shadow a chance to catch his footing, as I knew he could with ease. So I just ran.

"Stop!" called a voice. It was a man... "Miss! Stop! Release the toy and come with me!"

My eyes widened as I ran. _Toy? He thinks Shadow is a toy?! This could actually be helpful..._ "Shadow, don't move!" I hissed, still running. I was relieved when he gave compliance, and I took him all the way back to our little hidout. I then set him down by the window. "Break it, quick!" I told him.

Shadow looked back, then grabbed my arm. "No, that's too dangerous right now." He ran up the stairs, leaving me no choice but to follow.

"Miss! Wait!"

I did my best to ignore their calls as we kept running. At one point, I blinked, and saw it again... Shadow...dead, in my arms...

"Shadow, don't stop running!" I screamed, tears fresh in my eyes.

He looked down slightly as he ran, then nodded once. "I won't." he assured.

We then turned to another flight of stairs. I almost tripped here and regained my footing as fast as I could, but it didn't seem fast enough. My whole body was burning with adrenaline, my mind racing with thoughts. My vision began to cloud over. "Shadow," I panted, "I'm tired..."

"You can do this..." Shadow told me. "Don't give up on me!"

My eyes widened as he said this. Suddenly, I was filled with new energy. I nodded once and blocked out any and all pain my body felt. "...Okay." _Give up on you? No way. I'll never give up on you, Shadow the Hedgehog!_ I ran harder, now more determined than ever to get _out_ of here.

And I was so happy when we kicked the doors open and ran straight through, never even sparing a glance back.

* * *

 _ **Author's note:  
Hii! So, to any of you who are reading this between today, June 30th, and Friday, July 7th, please know that I will be gone until that Friday. I'm going on a cruise: Oasis of the Seas! XP It's gonna be great. One whole week of sailing and swimming and related stuff. I haven't updated yet this summer because we've been busy preparing for this, but I promise I will be working on both this and Help Me, Sonic over the cruise. I will not have internet access, but on the plane, during wait times, and maybe on the shuttle rides, I'll be using the Notes app in my phone to keep working on them. Then, starting Friday, I can promise you that updates will be much more regular.**_

 _ **Thanks!**_


	16. Chaos Control Leads to Maria

I hugged Shadow tightly. "We did it!" I cried, laughing. "We're safe!"

Shadow smiled a little as he hugged me back. "I told you we'd make it." he replied quietly.

"Yeah, but...You really did it!" I picked him up and hugged him tightly to my chest, nuzzling his cheek. "I'm so glad! You saved my sorry butt!" I laughed. "Thank you so much!"

"Addison," he chuckled, "it's fine. Really. I just did what I said I would do: protect you."

I set him down and smiled at him. "You completely went through with it. Thank you."

"Of course. Any time. Now..." He looked around. "Where should we go?"

We were now in a forest, in the middle of goodness-knows-where... And neither of us actually knew where we were, or what was nearby.

"Um...Y'know..." I peered around the dense cover of trees, but only found more trees. "...I don't know." I sighed. As much as I appreciated Chaos Control for saving us, I wished it would've sent us...somewhere one of us would be familiar with. Namely, me, since I live in this town...right? "Wait, which town are we in?" I asked suddenly. "Is there a sign, or...?"

Shadow pointed. "Over there is a green sign that marked the limits to something." he reported. "I noticed it as we were still heading here after using Chaos Control." he told me.

I smiled. "Great! I can figure out where we are then!" I said. "Let's go!" I ran in the direction he pointed...and I was devastated when I read the sign. "...I've never heard of this city before...And I know every city in the area I live in..." I said quietly.

Shadow came up to my side and looked up at me. "...Maybe this is a small city that you've just not heard of..." he said.

I looked at him and shook my head. "No...I used to live in one of those little cities. I knew every one of them. We're either in a whole different part of the state, or we're not _in_ the state anymore..." I calculated.

Shadow frowned. "Chaos Control isn't something I can always keep stable when I'm in a panic or rush." he said quietly. "...Forgive me."

I shook my head. "It's alright. No doubt I can just ask around and see." I assured him. Quickly, I picked him up and started heading out. "We just have to find a road."

He nodded as he held onto me and shifted up to my shoulder.

I kept walking until we reached a road. "Now...what's this road called...?" I mused quietly.

"Can't you just ask?" Shadow muttered.

"No..." I replied quietly. "People will try to take advantage of some teenage girl they see lost. If not that, they'll probably have me reported seeing as I'd appear as lost as an old woman with Alzheimer's."

Shadow's ears visibly perked up. "With what?" he asked.

"...Nothing. I'll explain later." I replied quietly. "Someone is coming."

Shadow nodded ever so slightly and closed his eyes.

I ignored the car that came up to me and drove past, but could barely suppress my fear. "...I don't know where I am, who I'm dealing with out here, or how I'll get back."

"I could just Chaos Control us back." Shadow offered.

I wanted to shake my head, but didn't to avoid being seen 'talking to myself'. "No, we can't do that out in the open. There could be security cameras anywhere. I don't know this place." I muttered. "But thanks anyways... Hey, I see a playground. Let's go there." I quickly began heading over to the small playground I'd spotted, relieved that it was not currently in use. I walked straight into it, setting Shadow down.

The black and red hedgehog looked up at me, then at the playground. "...What did you call this place...?" he asked quietly, ears down.

I tilted my head at him. "A playground, why?"

Shadow looked at it and stared, silent. The only part of him which revealed his lack of positive emotion was his drooping ears.

I knelt down beside Shadow and hugged him. "Hey...You okay?"

Shadow's only response was to put an arm around me. He then closed his eyes. "..."

"Shadow... Is something wrong?" I asked, rubbing his back.

He buried his face in my shoulder and shook his head. "No..." He then rested his head on my chest. "Nothing's wrong... It's just that, when she was very young, Maria had read about playgrounds. She always talked about wanting to go to one." After saying this, he put his other arm around me and squeezed tightly, sighing.

I frowned a little. "I'm sorry... I'm sure she'd be glad to know you finally got to see one." I told him, offering a smile.

He chuckled a little, though he didn't smile. "I suppose so..."

I stood up, looking down at him with a grin. "Let's go to the slide." I offered.

Shadow glanced over at the playground. "What?"

"It's the green one that looks like a cylinder." I informed him.

He nodded and started toward it.

Following him, I soon found myself inside the slide. Shadow sat above me to not be seen from anybody below. I made sure I wouldn't slide down backwards before relaxing. "Well, we'll just have to find our way back later." I mumbled, yawning. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I actually laid down.

Shadow nodded as he moved a bit closer to me. "Sleep. Nobody will come here now. If they do, we can leave."

I nodded and put an arm around him. He seemed to take this as a signal to get on top of me, because that's what he did. He crawled right on top of me and sat in my lap, his back against my bent legs. He hugged my arm close and rested his head on my shoulder, burying his face in my neck. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed as well, his ears twitching once before relaxing.

I smiled to myself. _Poor Shadow... You must be exhausted. I wonder if you even know half of what you're doing sometimes._ I thought with a slight chuckle. Still, I closed my eyes and put my free arm around him tightly. I then drifted off to sleep myself.

* * *

I was jolted awake by Shadow, who had twitched violently on me. Opening my eyes, I looked at him, startled and confused.

He looked wild. "Where am I?!" he demanded, pressing his hands hard against my stomach as he sat up. "Why am I here?! HELP ME!" He suddenly spotted the opening at the top, turning and trying to claw his way up.

"Shadow!" I called, grabbing his foot. He screamed as I yanked him back down, but I covered his mouth and held his trembling form to me. "Shadow!" I hissed. "Calm down!"

Suddenly, there was a noise from above us... Looking up, I saw the problem. A person was coming toward the slide.

"Shadow, we're leaving, okay?" I asked him quietly, looking back at him. But he didn't even seem to notice me. He was wide-eyed, breathing heavily, and shaking. _...He needs to get out of here._ I realized with a single nod. I quickly turned and slid down the slide, holding Shadow tightly to me. Once out, I crouched underneath it, panting quietly. I took another glance at Shadow, and he was staring at me. Straight at me. As if trying to tell me something...

"Who there?" asked a young female voice. It sounded like she was at the slide.

I set Shadow down and stood up. "Stay there. I mean it." I ordered. Something told me he would listen, despite whatever was wrong. I then went to the bottom of the slide. "Just me." I greeted with a smile.

The young girl had curly brown hair and a bright smile. "Hi! Who're you?" she asked.

"I'm Addison." I told him. What's your name?"

"Maria!" the girl cheered, heading down the slide.

I froze. "Oh! H-hey!"

Suddenly, from under the slide, came a horrible noise. It sounded like a mix between a cry and a scream. It was followed with semi-coherent words.

"Ma-Maria... Stay back, NO! Nnnnn... N-no... No, no please stop! Don't! G-go away! GO! HELP!"

I glanced at Maria. "... I'll be right back."

"Need help!" Maria said in a determined tone, following right after me.

I turned to face her, trying to block her view of Shadow. "No, this is-"

"Crying!" Maria announced.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked, crouching to look Maria eye-to-eye.

She nodded seriously. "Yeah!"

"Male sure nobody else sees this. Okay?"

Maria nodded once more. "Okay!" She then went to go look for people to distract while I looked down at Shadow.

He was curled up on the ground, clawing at his face and sobbing his little heart out.

I quickly knelt down beside him. "Shadow...!" I picked him up and hugged him tightly. "Hey...Shadow...what's wrong? Hey...it's okay... Shadow. Shadow, shhh, you're safe. You're okay." I murmured over his sobs.

He just looked up at me and reached his arms around my neck, tightly hugging me as he continued crying.

"Shadow... What just happened to you?" I asked once he was done wailing.

He continued sniffling, but spoke a little. "That-that slide... Made me think of tubes I was in...back on Prison Island... And on the ARK... But I was t-trapped..." He then stopped talking for a second before raising his voice. "Dammit don't _tell_ anybody!" he yelled, pulling his arms back and slamming his forearms against my shoulders.

I just continued to hug him, rubbing his back and doing my best to soothe him. "Keep going..."

He looked at the slide. "...Nobody on Mobius is called Maria, nobody. Nobody has her name I promise you and she-she-she's lying. She's working for SEGA and spying!" he rambled.

I looked at him. "Shadow! Snap out of it! It's like you're having a mental breakdown! You are fine! Nobody here works for anybody, and nobody is going to hurt you! Okay?!"

Shadow just slowly hid his face again. "..."

"Let me ask you something. You said nobody on Mobius is named Maria?" I asked him. He nodded, now heavily leaning against me. I continued, sitting down and hugging him to me. "Well, this is Earth. The name 'Maria' is actually widely used. You probably just fell apart because you heard that someone else was using her name. And the tubes? That was a long time ago. You're never going back to that. Okay?"

Shadow nodded again, now rubbing his face against my neck in a rather rough manner. "..."

"Shadow?" I asked, trying to pull his head back slightly.

He squeezed his eyes shut, ears going back. "..."

I looked down at my shirt, and there were some fading watery streaks. He was probably trying to use my shirt to dry his tears so he wouldn't be seen doing so with his hands or arms. "Oh..." To test my theory, I rubbed his cheek a little. "Hey, open your eyes."

He slowly did so, and sure enough, he'd been crying. His eyes were irritated and red, and rather shiny-looking.

I only pulled him closer and hugged him tightly. "Shadow... You're safe. I promise."

He just put his arms around me and sighed. "..."

I then stood up and nodded, holding him tight to me as I went to find Maria.

As I got to her, I was about to speak, but Shadow beat me to it.

"You!" he snarled upon seeing Maria. "You're a liar! What's your real name?! It is not Maria!"

The girl looked scared now and went to hide behind a small pole. "It is Maria! That's my name!" she cried.

"LIAR!" Shadow spat, infuriated.

Maria screamed and shrunk back behind the pole more. "I'm not!"

Annoyed, I reached up and yanked on Shadow's ear. "Hey!"

Shadow winced and glared at me, ears perked. "What?!"

"Calm down! We discussed this already, you're perfectly safe! Alright?!" I told him, tapping on his chest as I did so.

He gave me a look that clearly said "I don't like this but I'll shut up."

Nodding once, I returned my attention to Maria."Hey." I said, my voice now softer. "So how did you hold up? Did anybody notice us?"

Maria perked up. "Nope! Nobody!"

"Thats good." I said, smiling.

"I did good?" she asked.

"You did excellent." I replied in praise.

"Yay!" Maria cheered, beaming. "I feel special!"

"You are." I agreed, nodding. "But there's one more thing I need you to do."

"Okay, what?" she asked. "I'll do it!"

I chuckled. "Good. But first you have to make a promise to me. Ready?"

"Ready!"

"You can't let anybody figure out about this. Nobody can know that Shadow and I were here. Promise not to tell anybody?" I asked, gently grabbing her hands.

Maria squeezed my hands and nodded, assuming a serious face. "Okay. Nobody will know!"

"Good. And I mean nobody. If anybody finds out, we're all in trouble. That's why you were chosen to help us." I told her, smiling a little.

She nodded again. "I promise!"

"Good. Now. The last favor is this: help Shadow and me out of here. Can you do that?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Maria chirped.

Shadow's grip suddenly tightened on my shirt, but I ignored it as I continued to talk to Maria. "I need you to cover your eyes and count to ten. That'll help us get out safely, like magic." I told her.

Shadow suddenly looked up at me. "No...No!" He pushed away from me and ran to Maria, hugging her tightly. "We're not leaving!"

I gasped, my whole body going numb for a split second. "...Shadow..."

Maria looked confused, and somewhat scared. "Shadow...?"

Shadow put a hand on the back of Maria's head, pulling her close and resting his head on her shoulder. "Not...leaving..."

"Shadow... Come on...we have to go..." I said, reaching forward a little bit.

"Shadow sad?" Maria asked, hugging him back. "...I'll miss you..."

Shadow cringed at this and buried his face in her shoulder, ears going down. "I know...I will miss you as well..."

I frowned sadly. "Shadow...we...we have to go..."

Shadow sniffled a little, then stepped away from Maria, holding both of her little hands. "Listen to me, Maria. Take good care of yourself. Stay safe, always."

Maria nodded. "I will, I promise."

Shadow nodded as well. "Good. Remember that promise. Never, ever forget it."

"...I won't." Maria said. She sounded rather somber now, as if she'd matured suddenly. But it faded soon as she hugged Shadow once more and kissed his cheek, smiling. "I love you, Shadow."

Shadow's ears perked at the gesture, and he bowed his head slightly. "...I love you too, Maria." He sounded somewhat distant, but I said nothing of it for now.

"Let's go." I said, offering a weak smile.

Shadow nodded and turned once more to face me, tears fresh in his eyes. "I'll see you soon, Maria."

The young girl nodded. Time seemed to slow down considerably as she turned around, covering her eyes. Her voice rang out in the deafening silence, announcing our time to go. "One..."

Shadow grabbed my hand and began walking away, silent.

"Two..."

I glanced down at Shadow, wondering just how hard this had become for him.

"Three..."

Still, I said nothing as we walked on.

"Four..."

Her voice was becoming faint as we continued to walk farther and farther.

"Five..."

I heard Shadow sniff quietly, and looked at him to see he was now crying.

"Six..."

Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, but he stared ahead as he walked, his hand holding tightly onto mine.

"Seven..."

Maria's voice was now just a whisper in the wind.

"Eight..."

She sounded on the verge of tears herself.

"Nine..."

I resisted the urge to look back.

...

I waited to hear the sound of her voice announcing ten, but I never heard it. Perhaps we had gone that far already. I started to slow down, but quickly picked up my pace again when I noticed Shadow had no intention of stopping. I wanted to stop and take a moment to think, but maybe Shadow had done enough thinking for one day.

Now, all that was left to do was keep moving.


End file.
